Cleveland police commissioner Steve Turner faces three further allegations

Steve turner said he is being subjected to a witch hunt after new referrals were made about him to the police watchdog

Cleveland Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Steve Turner is facing three new referrals to the police watchdog.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is already looking at one case of an alleged sexual offence against Mr Turner, having previously dismissed three concerning theft.

Now the Cleveland Police and Crime Panel has referred three more cases, the IOPC confirmed, although it would not detail the allegations.

Mr Turner said it was a "witch hunt".

'Innocent'

In a statement, Conservative PCC Mr Turner said the new allegations related to two "admin errors" made "inadvertently" by his team, and one from an anonymous source that he "punched an unknown person in an unknown pub sometime in 2019".

The IOPC has not confirmed the details of these referrals, but Mr Turner, who was elected in May, said he was "happy to put it in the public domain".

In relation to the alleged punching, Mr Turner said: "Anyone who knows me will know how ridiculous such an accusation is so once again I am confident there is no truth in it and I will be cleared of the whole thing."

With regards the ongoing probe into a historical allegation of a sexual assault, Mr Turner said: "After over six weeks I still have no idea what, when, where or who this allegation involves but I will be found innocent of this."

'Insufficient evidence'

An IOPC spokesman said: "Any indication a criminal offence may have been committed by a PCC must be referred to the IOPC to determine whether the matter should be criminally investigated.

"As set out in legislation, we only investigate serious complaints or conduct matters, specifically those involving criminal allegations, involving PCCs and their deputies.

"We are assessing three referrals from the Cleveland Police and Crime Panel to determine what further action may be required from us."

The IOPC said it had looked at three historical allegations, two of theft and one of failing to declare a police caution when applying for the PCC election.

The spokesman said: "We found insufficient evidence that a criminal offence may have taken place in one of those matters, while the other was investigated by police at the time and a police caution subsequently issued. As such a further investigation by the IOPC is not required at this time.

"As there was no legal requirement to declare a police caution [in the PCC election process], there was no evidence any offence may have been committed."

A spokesman for the Cleveland Police and Crime Panel, said its role was to "assess complaints" and refer them to the IOPC.

He said: "Where a matter is referred, then it would be for the IOPC to consider any investigation."

Follow BBC North East & Cumbria on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [e-mail]