Under-fire police chief steps down from his role overseeing Leicestershire Police

Mike Veale, whose appointment by Leicestershire’s elected police and crime commissioner, (PCC), Rupert Matthews attracted widespread criticism, confirmed his resignation yesterday (Wednesday February 1).

He is facing a misconduct hearing over claims alleged breaches of “professional standards of behaviour” when he was chief constable of Cleveland Police.

He left the northern force in 2019 with the matter hanging over him and has been the subject of a series of media reports ever since.

He joined Mr Matthews’ office in an advisory role in 2021, reportedly for a six figure sum.

Mr Matthews, the Conservative candidate in the 2021 election, then hired him for the senior salaried role of interim chief executive of his office.

The decision was much criticised, including during a debate in the House of Lords when one member described his appointment as “absolutely disturbing”.

Yesterday, Mr Matthews said the resignation had come as a result of “continued negative media coverage”. He added he was “disappointed” at the decision.

He said: “I can confirm that Mike Veale has resigned from his post as interim chief executive.

“In light of the continued negative media coverage regarding his, albeit temporary, appointment he felt that this move was in the best interests of my office.

“It’s disappointing but I understand his position. I would like to place on record my appreciation of Mike’s significant contribution to my office and wish him well in the future.”

He added: “I said in December that I would recruit to the substantive post in the new year, so very little has actually changed. I will update the panel on my arrangements in due course.

“However, temporary arrangements are already in place to ensure I comply with my statutory duties.”

Mr Matthews previously defended the appointment, saying he believed people were innocent until proven guilty.

His Labour predecessor in the PCC role, Lord Willy Bach, was among the critics, saying Mr Veale should not have been able to work for the PCC’s office in any capacity while the investigation was ongoing.

Speaking in response this latest development, Lord Willy Bach said: “It saddens me to think that the OPCC (Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner) can be tarnished in this way. It’s a relatively new role, and elected commissioners across the country have worked hard to build public confidence in what is a rather different approach to police scrutiny. I fear that my successor’s actions may have dealt a fatal blow to the reputation of the OPCC in Leicestershire.

"I doubt we’ve heard the last of this and many unanswered questions remain about just how this was allowed to happen and how much it has cost the taxpayer.”

The Police and Crime Panel Chair, Cllr Deborah Taylor, read out a statement at the meeting, listing a sequence of unanswered communications in which she had raised her concerns at the lack of stability and scrutiny in her colleague’s office.

At the meeting, Mr Matthews introduced Andy Champness, a former CEO at the West Mercia OPCC, as his latest ‘interim’ CEO – the seventh post holder in less than two years.