Cleveland Police Supt Bev Gill 'meddled in investigations'

Supt Bev Gill is accused of gross misconduct

A police force's head of professional standards meddled in two investigations involving her friends, a disciplinary panel has been told.

Supt Bev Gill, of Cleveland Police, is accused of tipping off Det Insp Simon Hurwood about allegations of a sexual nature made against him.

She is also accused of intervening in an inquiry after a senior officer lied about injuries from a love rival.

Supt Gill is charged with gross misconduct but denies the claims.

Her barrister, Hugh Davies QC, told the hearing at Middlesbrough Football Club's stadium that Supt Gill "strongly contests the whole premise of the allegations".

The officer, who has 25 years' experience, faces allegations from up to six years ago when, as chief inspector, she was first deputy and then substantive head of the force's professional standards department.

Stephen Morley, representing the force, said the Independent Office for Police Conduct investigated her conduct following the revelations about Mr Hurwood.

'Effectively threaten her'

Concerns had been raised with the professional standards department about Mr Hurwood's interaction with female colleagues, he said.

Mr Morley told the hearing there had been an allegation, although disputed, that an officer in the department spoke to Supt Gill about Mr Hurwood's behaviour towards a particular woman but Supt Gill had not taken appropriate action.

Supt Gill "did the wrong thing" by then tipping off Mr Hurwood, because they were friends, and breaching a confidence, he said.

Mr Hurwood then spoke to the person who made the allegation to "effectively threaten her", Mr Morley said.

"It was a veiled threat for her to keep her nose out of his business, I suppose," he said.

Mr Hurwood was arrested in 2018 and was facing a disciplinary hearing regarding his behaviour towards 21 women when he quit his job.

He denied any wrongdoing but the panel later found he had committed gross misconduct and banned him from serving as a police officer again.

Love rival lies

Supt Gill got involved in a separate issue because she was friends with a female officer whose husband thought his wife was having an affair with a chief inspector and "seriously assaulted" him, the hearing was told.

The chief inspector who had been beaten up then lied, saying he was injured in a cycling accident, and was dismissed, but later got his job back.

Mr Morley said Supt Gill "meddled in the investigation".

"She shouldn't have done so and the reason was to help a friend," he said.

Mr Morley applied for an adjournment to the hearing to allow more time to prepare after new information from an upcoming employment tribunal came to light.

Mr Davies said his client had post-traumatic stress disorder caused by the investigation and opposed the adjournment because it could delay the case by up to a year and her treatment could not start until it had finished.

The panel will say next Wednesday whether they have decided to grant the adjournment.

Mr Morley told the hearing the force would not be able to proceed with the case if the adjournment was not granted, and he would offer no evidence.