Secret report into Cleveland Police conduct revealed by The Northern Echo

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) report into the scandal - which could cost taxpayers more than £2m - has been obtained by The Northern Echo.

The 139-page document raises a number of questions of Cleveland Police and some senior officials.

Former Chief Inspector Tony Riordan was said to have been "desperate" and "hell-bent" on prosecuting a suspect he believed had influenced a trial by interfering with witnesses.

A decision not to suspend the officer when he was later under suspicion himself for perverting the course of justice is also questioned in the findings.

Last week, it emerged that Middlesbrough solicitor James Watson who was arrested as part of the investigation highlighted in the report has won £550,000 damages.

Four more legal actions are pending and "there is still the potential for reputational damage to Cleveland Police", it says.

The report does, however, conclude that new chief constable Jacqui Cheer is already making efforts to turn around the fortunes of the under-fire force.

"The chief constable should be applauded for her work to date," it says.

"There has already been the start of a transformational process."

The report comes months after the force was rocked by the unprecedented sackings of former chief constable Sean Price and his deputy Derek Bonnard for gross misconduct.

It described embattled Cleveland Police as the force that would not listen.

Officers are accused of ignoring advice from on high and refusing offers of help when it was hit by one crisis after another - according to the investigation carried out by West Yorkshire Police for the IPCC.

Its report says some senior staff obstructed the independent inquiry team and showed "a distinct reluctance" to hand over documents.

It was not until Mrs Cheer took over as chief constable that a breakthrough came - and investigators could get to the truth.

It says: "Why did it take so long for someone to actually stop 'the runaway train' and to take the necessary step backwards to look objectively at the facts.

"Out of a relatively small force budget, hundreds of thousands of pounds in salary, overtime, legal expenses and external specialist services have been wasted.

"It is regrettable that the word of a somewhat discredited senior investigating officer was apparently accepted by some senior managers within Cleveland Police in preference to the views of an independent team of experienced investigators.

"The question left at the forefront of the investigation mind is - why did it take the arrival of the new chief constable for Cleveland Police to effectively start to listen to both Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and ourselves?"

Middlesbrough defence lawyer Mr Watson received £550,000 damages after he was wrongly arrested for perverting the course of justice.

As The Northern Echo revealed yesterday, four others are pursuing claims against the force with complaints about the same investigation.

The total bill faced by the force could be more than £2m - and a whole lot of negative publicity which further damages its reputation.

One source said last night: "The core issue here is one of public trust, but that is being eroded by the day. Where will it end?"

The report is critical of Ch Insp Riordan - now retired - who investigated the kidnap of a Hartlepool businessman in 2004.

After a conviction, an appeal, a retrial and the acquittal of their chief suspect, the officer became "hell-bent" on nailing him, according to the report.

Police were convinced that witnesses had been briefed to change their stories and made arrests for perverting the course of justice.

The kidnap suspect, Teesside man Bronson Tyers, and his solicitor, Mr Watson, were arrested.

In 2010, Tyers submitted a complaint with a number of serious allegations against Mr Riordan and other officers on his team.

The claims led to the IPCC probe by West Yorkshire Police and the report we have obtained.

It contains such damning phrases as "desperate" "disingenuous", "win at all costs" and "incompetence" to describe conduct.

Mr Riordan was interviewed as a suspect after he was accused of suppressing key evidence which would help Tyers's case.

The IPCC inquiry team and the CPS advised that he should be suspended - but he was instead allowed to retire.

Chairman of his disciplinary board, Assistant Chief Constable Sean White, is criticised for ignoring the advice.

The report points to a photograph showing the two men - among other colleagues - at a police sailing regatta in 2011.

"It is difficult to ignore the likely observations and perceptions an outside observer would have," the report says.

"To some extent, this innocent picture rightly or wrongly may cause scrutiny and doubt to be cast on the outcomes. Protestations of making the right decision may seem somewhat hollow.

"The fact is that the chair should have anticipated the above and protected himself by openly declaring an interest.

"It is fully accepted that Cleveland at that stage was in unchartered waters with no chief constable or deputy chief constable.

"The IPCC would have expected a declaration of interest in writing from the decision-maker himself with regard to Ch Insp Riordan.

"The fact that Ch Insp Riordan may have complained if he was suspended is not a reason to decline to suspend an officer. If that were the case, we suspect that nobody would ever be suspended."

Last week Mrs Cheer said that ACC White had decided the conditions to justify Ch Insp Riordan's suspension had not been met having fully considered an interim IPCC report, consulted with specialist advisors and invited submissions from key parties.

She said: "ACC White strongly refutes the claim that his decision was influenced or based upon anything other than the facts and evidence presented to him at the time of the decision-making process.

"The IPCC report recommends that I debrief and discuss with ACC White the process for making this decision, with the benefit of hindsight, which I have done, and I fully support him."

The report says it was a mistake to allow Ch Insp Riordan to lead the witness nobbling inquiry - after he headed the original case.

In a statement, he insisted that he acted with "integrity and professionalism" throughout all of the investigations.

Mr Riordan said: "I strongly refute any allegation I acted with anything other than professionalism and integrity in connection with the arrest of Mr Watson.

“I have made a formal complaint about the conduct of the investigation carried out by West Yorkshire Police on behalf of the IPCC."

But in the report, he is slated for being "hell-bent on cornering his quarry" in a quest to get convictions against Tyers.

The findings reveal that the vital piece of evidence which could have helped Tyers's defence case was withheld for years.

Neither the suspect, his legal team nor even the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) were made aware of it, the report says.

It describes as "difficult to comprehend" the decision not to bring the evidence to the attention to the CPS sooner.

When the independent inquiry team learned of it, and the CPS, the perverting the course of justice trial collapsed.

Det Insp Riordan is accused in the report of a disingenuous attempt to blame the CPS and a colleague for the non-disclosure.

Gaon Hart, of the CPS specialist crime section, says in the report that he "clearly adapted [the] story to fit the evidence.

"It is possible, through inference, to consider that on occasions, the suspect was not telling the truth."