Validity of chief constable allegations questioned

Devon and Cornwall's Police and Crime Commissioner has questioned the validity of allegations of serious sexual offences made against the force's suspended chief constable.

Will Kerr was suspended in July 2023 after an investigation was opened into "serious allegations of sexual offences" in Northern Ireland, which he denies.

Alison Hernandez said she was "frustrated" by the length of the suspension and questioned why no action had been taken against Mr Kerr.

A spokesperson from the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) in Northern Ireland said the case had been dealt with quickly after receiving the allegations and there had been "no avoidable delay" on its part.

Hernandez said Mr Kerr had not been arrested and it had made her "doubt the validity of these allegations".

"I think our residents would be absolutely mortified if they knew that someone had that allegation against them and they hadn't even been arrested yet," she said.

"You'd be assuming they must be innocent because they haven't had anything done to them."

The PPS said the file received from the police ombudsman for Northern Ireland on 30 May last year in regards to the allegations was at an "advanced stage of consideration".

It said: "The PPS recently received further information and material from the investigation team which was required before a decision as to prosecution can be taken.

"A decision will be issued once consideration of that material is complete."

Mr Kerr's replacement, Jim Colwell, was also suspended in November after allegations of misconduct.

"The challenge for us is that I don't like the waiting game," said Ms Hernandez.

The PONI added: "To publicly speculate on the validity of any such allegations for any reason has the potential to undermine the confidence of victims and survivors to report sexual assault and remain engaged with the criminal justice system."

Follow BBC Devon on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].