Misconduct case upheld against deputy chief constable

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said Adam Briggs would receive "management advice" as a sanction following the findings of a disciplinary meeting yesterday.

The case revolved around a chaotic recruitment campaign for new police constables which led to phone lines crashing when 350,000 calls were made to the force in a week in February this year.

A small list of numbers to call back was drawn up, which was later found to include numbers for a relative of Mr Briggs and a relative of chief constable Grahame Maxwell, who faces a separate hearing for alleged gross misconduct in the New Year.

The IPCC said it could not comment further on the detail of the case until the outcome of Mr Maxwell's hearing.

But Mr Briggs last night stated five out of six counts of misconduct had not been upheld by the panel which comprised Merseyside Chief Constable Jon Murphy and Ian Whitaker, an independent member of North Yorkshire Police Authority.

He said: "I'm relieved to have been completely exonerated in relation to the serious allegations regarding my honesty and integrity.

"I accept the findings of the panel and the advice that I should have counselled the chief constable in a different way – something I acknowledged from the outset.

"I'm pleased the panel has seen fit to put matters back into perspective and I regard the findings proportionate and just.

"At no point have I ever sought to use my position to gain an unfair advantage for a relative or anyone else."