Former MET chief advising Devon and Cornwall Police

A former top police officer has been appointed as an adviser to Devon and Cornwall Police following the suspension of its chief constable.

Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Alison Hernandez told councilors at a policing and crime panel in Plymouth on Friday that Lord Hogan-Howe, Metropolitan Police Commissioner from 2011 to 2017, would help in a strategic and tactical way .

She said the decision was made following the suspension of Chief Constable Will Kerr in July 2023 when he was accused of serious sexual offences, which he denies.

Ms. Hernandez added that she did not expect any results from the investigation into Mr. Kerr “any time soon” but hoped that a decision would be made this year.

Last year, the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland said it was investigating “allegations of serious sexual offences” made against Mr Kerr, who was the deputy chief constable of Northern Ireland.

In June, the Ombudsman said its investigation had been completed and a case had been lodged with the Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland.

Ms Hernandez said the Crown Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland told her they would give her another update in September.

Mr Kerr, who strongly denied “any allegations of criminality” when the inquiry was launched, has been suspended on full pay for almost 12 months.

Ms Hernandez said that following Mr Kerr’s suspension, Devon and Cornwall were struggling with “all the things you would expect the bread and butter of a police force to be”.

She reminded councilors of concerns raised by inspectors about the quality of her investigations and the time it takes to respond to calls and attend incidents.

Philip Hackett, an independent councilor at Torridge Council, called on the PCC to explain why taxpayers in Devon and Cornwall “are paying for someone who has been suspended and could be suspended for a while”.

Ms Hernandez said she expected to make a decision on the role of chief constable “at some point this year”.

She said Lord Hogan-Howe was giving “strategic and tactical advice” to her and Acting Chief Constable Jim Colwell.

“We want to see what we can do to make things better, to create that momentum and see what we can do more of,” she said.

In a separate development, Ms Hernandez said she was making Mark Kingscote deputy commissioner.

Mr Kingscote is a retired NHS mental health support worker who was a Conservative councilor in the same ward as Ms Hernandez in Torbay.

The group voted to recommend that the PCC not appoint the chosen candidate because he did not meet the minimum requirements for the role, but Ms. Hernandez said she would not accept the recommendation.

Defending her decision, Ms Hernandez said she felt it was the right move to bring in Mr Kingscote, especially during Mr Kerr’s ongoing suspension.

She said: “I am delighted to be able to appoint Mark Kingscote today and he will help me develop my operational focus on the street to tackle anti-social behaviour.

“He will help build capacity in the leadership team while we have the absence of a chief constable and the police are experiencing performance issues,” she added.