HC Deb 15 July 2003 vol 409 cc272-4W
Mr. Paul Marsden

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what progress is being made in the internal police investigation into the conduct of Detective Chief Superintendent Ellie Baker; [123695]

(2) if he will list (a) the name, (b) rank and (c) length of time for which they have been involved in the investigation of each officer involved in the internal police investigation of Detective Chief Superintende1nt Ellie Baker; [123696]

(3) whether compensation will be paid to Detective Chief Superintendent Ellie Baker for the criminal investigation into her conduct. [123697]

Ms Blears

The West Midlands Police inform me that the internal investigation is drawing to a close. Independent legal advice has been sought and shared with the Police Complaints Authority, who are currently considering further written representations submitted by Detective Chief Superintendent (DCS) Baker in May, before they make their recommendations on whether she should face misconduct proceedings.

The West Midlands Police inform me that the overall Senior Investigating Officer is Mr. Robert Quick, formerly a Commander of the Metropolitan Police Service and now the Deputy Chief Constable of Surrey Constabulary. Mr. Robert Quick has been involved in the case since the outset in November 2002. Other

1. Crime Reduction Initiatives

Initiatives that have been funded in Pendle for crime reduction purposes
£
Name of initiative Total amount of funding awarded
CCTV 2001–02 201,000
Communities against drugs 2001–02 and 2002–03 169,600
Safer communities initiative 2002–03 32,125
Partnership Development Fund (PDF) 2002–03 20,000
Small Retailers in Deprived Areas (SRDA) 2001–02, 2002–03 and 2003–04 71,698
Building Safer Communities Fund (BSC) 2003–04 120,867
Basic Command Unit Fund (BCU)1 2003–04 1214,571
Total (inclusive BCU) 829,861
(exclusive BCU) 615,290
1 BCU allocation is for the Pennine BCU which includes Burnley, Rossendale and Pendle. The allocation will be used across the BCU area; it is not possible to quantify how much will be utilised in Pendle itself.

Interventions funded by crime reduction allocations included: a town centre Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) system, targeted policing operations, mobile CCTV, an initiative on tackling domestic violence, supporting youth mentoring, installation of security improvements and funding community support workers.

2. Community Cohesion Initiatives

The Community Cohesion Pathfinder Programme, launched by the Home Office and Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) in October 2002, aims to build examples of areas that are successfully mainstreaming community cohesion into all their core service delivery functions. The programme encompasses local authorities, the community and voluntary sector, and communities themselves. Pendle is one of the five authorities (together with Lancashire County Council, officers who have been involved in the internal investigation of DCS Baker are from the respective Professional Standards Units of the West Midlands Police and the Metropolitan Police Service and include ranks from Detective Constable up to Detective Superintendent. As these officers are often involved in covert policing methods investigating acts of serious corruption and unethical behaviour, the West Midlands Police do not wish to disclose their names and details publicly.

The West Midlands Police advise me, however, that DCS Baker is aware of the actual identities of many of the officers involved in the investigation and, in particular, those who have performed key roles.

At present the West Midlands Police consider that they would have no cause to pay compensation to DCS Baker.