Cleveland Police 'racial abuse' officers have no case to answer

Former PC Nadeem Saddique calls the ruling "a sham" and "a whitewash"

Six police officers accused of racial discrimination against an Asian colleague "have no case to answer", according to a watchdog's investigation.

Cleveland Police firearms officer Nadeem Saddique was awarded £457,664 in compensation in 2016 after a tribunal ruled he was victimised.

However, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said there was no evidence to back up the allegations.

Ms Saddique called the ruling a "sham".

The former PC, who was born in Middlesbrough, joined Cleveland Police in 1991 and had guarded high-profile figures such as Tony Blair and members of the Royal family.

The tribunal had originally heard his superiors were heard plotting to force him out of the firearms department during a night out at a pub in Yarm due to his Pakistani heritage, and it concluded "the majority of his claims were well founded".

'A whitewash'

Further allegations centred on whether Mr Saddique, of Stockton, was pressured to transfer to the force's motorcycle unit, and a claim a firearms officer displayed an English Defence League sticker on his holster.

There was a further complaint that an officer instructed his wife to pretend to film Mr Saddique at a gym while he was away from work on sick leave.

But in its report, the IOPC said it found no evidence any of the six officers breached standards of professional behaviour with "the only evidence against them hearsay" from Mr Saddique whom it added had decided to "cease engaging" with the watchdog.

Mr Saddique, who left the force following the tribunal ruling, described the investigation as "flawed".

He added he had "lost all faith" in the probe after about 18 months and pointed to the senior investigating officer being changed "at least six times".

"It is obvious to me that the IOPC is just a mouthpiece for Cleveland Police," he said. "This 'investigation' has been a sham. A whitewash."

Part of the IOPC's Operation Forbes, it was one of three strands of an investigation into misconduct at the force.

Probes looking into an equality review and illegal monitoring continue.