Police chief sacked over cover-up bid

The chief constable of Cleveland Police has become the first head of a force to be sacked in 35 years after he tried to bully a junior colleague into helping him cover up his lies to an independent inquiry probing years of alleged wrongdoing.

A disciplinary panel sacked Sean Price, 55, with immediate effect after it found that he tried to mislead the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) about efforts to secure a job for the daughter of then head of the police authority, David McLuckie. Mr Price then put pressure on his personal assistant to back up his story in what the IPCC described as "shameful" behaviour.

Mr Price, who headed the force since 2003, faced a total of 18 misconduct charges including the alleged misuse of credit cards.

Mr Price is also one of eight people, including Mr McLuckie, arrested during a wider probe into the award of contracts by the police authority which is likely to continue into 2013. Operation Sacristy is headed by Keith Bristow, the director-general of the new National Crime Agency being set up to tackle serious organised crime.