North Yorkshire Police chief inquiry cost IPCC £100,000

Chief constable Grahame Maxwell has faced calls for his resignation since he admitted misconduct

The police watchdog has revealed it spent £100,000 investigating claims of misconduct against North Yorkshire's chief constable and his former deputy.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) inquiry followed claims that Grahame Maxwell and Adam Briggs had helped relatives get jobs.

Mr Maxwell was handed a final written warning in May after admitting gross misconduct. Mr Briggs has retired.

IPCC data shows £90,000 was spent on staff time and £10,000 on legal costs.

The investigation found that Mr Maxwell helped a relative gain unfair advantage in a police recruitment drive for 60 jobs.

He also admitted assisting a member of his extended family and a relative of his deputy, Mr Briggs.

Mr Briggs was found at a hearing in December to have helped a relative get a job during the recruitment exercise when he received "management advice".

'Lot of money'

After the disciplinary hearing in May, the North Yorkshire Police Authority said Mr Maxwell could have "avoided organisational and personal turmoil and unnecessary cost to the council tax payer" if he had admitted the charge earlier.

Julian Smith, the Conservative MP for Skipton and Ripon, who obtained the IPCC figures from the Home Office, said: "I have been concerned all along about the numbers involved and particularly the fact that I think we will find that a lot of money has been spent when actually, if Mr Maxwell had pleaded guilty earlier, that spending could have been avoided."

He also stressed that the IPCC costs were only part of the total cost of the investigation.

"There was the IPCC investigation, there was the local taxpayers' money that North Yorkshire Police Authority has spent, there was money spent by the police force itself and then any defence costs which may or may not have been paid by the public. We're currently investigating that."

The police authority said it would publish its costs as soon as they were known.