'Robocop' Mallon wins a landslide against Labour

Ray Mallon, the detective who introduced "zero tolerance" policing to Britain, was elected the Mayor of Middlesbrough yesterday in a landslide victory.

The so-called Robocop won 63 per cent of the ballot with 26,362 votes, coasting past the 9,653 polled by the Labour candidate, Sylvia Connolly, the deputy leader of Middlesbrough Borough Council.

The win was every bit as controversial as the reputation preceding Mr Mallon, who was fêted for his crackdown on crime before becoming the subject of a five-year inquiry into police corruption called Operation Lancet.

Cheering, some jeering and occasional heckling greeted the confirmation of his win during a highly charged meeting at Middlesbrough Town Hall.

Mr Mallon, who had been strongly criticised by the local MP during his campaign, immediately launched an attack on his opponents and the inefficiency of some councillors. "This is not my victory, this is your victory," he said, addressing the voters. "The public of Middlesbrough have given us a mandate for change and change they will get."

Mr Mallon said he was sure his opponents in the council and Cleveland Police, his former employer, would "do everything they can to undermine me". He warned there would be "no place for them" if they did not co-operate.

However, Mr Mallon was quick to promise a positive future relationship with Labour and said he would move "heaven and earth'' to work with Labour's new group leader, Paul Thompson. Calling himself "truly independent", he stressed that his victory should not be regarded as a defeat for the ruling Labour Party but as an opportunity.

Stuart Bell, the Labour MP for Middlesbrough, was quick to endorse Mr Mallon's credibility and said he would "respect the views of the electorate", despite having criticised Mr Mallon in the run-up to the election.

Mr Bell used his parliamentary privilege last month to launch a scathing attack on Mr Mallon and also took a full-page advertisement in a local newspaper to decry the former policeman for pleading guilty to what he described as "very serious" disciplinary charges.

Mr Mallon was once praised by top politicians for his methods of dealing with crime and even had a pre- general election photocall with Tony Blair in 1997. However, he fell from grace when he was accused of a batch of highly inflammatory allegations over his conduct and that of his officers. The Crown Prosecution Service declined to press criminal charges, but he shocked supporters and opponents alike by confessing to 14 disciplinary charges.

He said his frankness, which brought Operation Lancet to an end, was intended to fulfil a promise to the people of Middlesbrough that he would stand for election as Mayor. The Middlesbrough postal election attracted a 43 per cent turn-out, higher than the last local elections in 1999, which only pulled 29 per cent of the 102,000 electorate's vote.

Mr Mallon voiced his deep frustration over the fresh allegations made against him at Teesside Crown Court by Paul Bryan, who is accused of shooting a former professional rugby player, David Nelson, and his friend Joseph Montgomery dead in a Leeds pub last year, and of the attempted murder of Andrew Nelson, David Nelson's brother.

Mr Bryan alleged that Middlesbrough's new Mayor had put a sawn-off shotgun in front of him and threatened to plant it in his house if Mr Bryan did not give him information.

Mr Mallon said he felt "mad" about the claim but could not respond in the media because of the court proceedings. He will begin mayoral duties on 6 May and will receive a salary of £30,000 a year over a five-year term.

Mr Mallon said he was happy to appoint councillors of any political persuasion as commissioners. He will also create a new position to cover the area of law and order.

He said he would make use of the Crime and Disorder Act, which gives responsibility to local authorities to devise ways to reduce crime.

Mr Mallon said: "This council will have tremendous influence over the way crime reduction strategies are devised. I'm going after anybody that affects the quality of life of any member of this town."

He also pledged that he would work harmoniously with the Chief Constable of Cleveland Police, Barry Shaw, who had claimed that Mr Mallon had headed an "empire of evil" when he was in charge of the town's CID. "I will treat him properly," Mr Mallon said.