Ex-Cleveland Police chief Mike Veale 'upset people' turning around force

Mike Veale denies making comments of a sexual nature to colleagues at Cleveland Police

A former police chief accused of making sexual remarks to colleagues said he had "upset some people" as he tried to turn around his troubled force.

Mike Veale, who was appointed Chief Constable of Cleveland Police in 2018, is alleged to have told a female officer she could "touch herself".

It is also claimed he described her and a senior male officer as "bedfellows".

The 57-year-old, who left the force after 10 months, admitted he was "a bit sweary" but denies gross misconduct.

On the second day of a hearing in Middlesbrough, Mr Veale said he did not tell the married woman, referred to as Witness B, to touch herself as they were sitting in a car in November 2018.

"To be clear, I do not recall the conversation at all. It did not happen," he said.

'Mortified'

He told the panel his "bedfellows - metaphorically speaking or otherwise" remark to the same woman the following month during a working lunch at a police base in Norfolk led to a "spontaneous flare up" as she believed he was implying she was having an affair with a colleague known as Witness C.

Mr Veale said: "The effect on me was shock. I was taken completely aback as was everyone else, complete bewilderment."

He said there was no innuendo intended and he suggested to Witness B and others present they should google the word "bedfellows" to see it was a "political term that's used every day".

He said he had been making a point about collaborative working.

The following month, he wrote to the-then Cleveland Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Barry Coppinger saying it had come to his attention allegations had been made that he had used "sexualised comments".

In the letter, Mr Veale said he was "mortified if I have caused offence to anyone" and accepted "there may have been comments made during conversation with colleagues they may have considered inappropriate".

'A bit sweary'

However, he told the panel it had not been an apology for sexual comments and instead referred to changes he had been making within the service.

"The force was in crisis, I was delayering the organisation and removing two ranks," he said.

"I was trying to eradicate the smoke-filled room decision-making, the toxic culture and the cliques. That upset many people."

Describing himself as "a bit sweary" and "unorthodox", he said he knew he "had sailed close to the mark because I have become animated".

He told the hearing: "I hate injustice and I felt across Cleveland Police the leadership at all levels had let the force and the public down and I was animated about that because for years and years senior leaders turned a blind eye.

"They didn't like to hear that truth. I was animated about things I was uncovering and some of the staggering practices I was uncovering."

'Untenable'

However, Peter Wright, for Mr Veale, said the PCC's office had failed to prove either allegation.

He said: "What is lacking is any independent confirmatory evidence from any quarter."

Mr Veale served notice of his retirement the day after sending the letter to the PCC, saying he felt Mr Coppinger had lost confidence in him.

He said he opted to retire after becoming aware he could face suspension, adding that his position would have been "untenable".

In December 2022, Mr Veale was given the interim job of chief executive officer for the PCC for Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland, but he stepped down after just two months.

If gross misconduct is proven, the disciplinary panel could bar him from working in policing again.

The panel has since retired to consider its verdict.