A FORMER Special Branch officer is being prosecuted for misuse of Cleveland Police's computer systems after he looked up his son's drug conviction.

Alexander Watson, 59, of Earle Close, Yarm, denied two charges of obtaining personal data from the force's IRIS system, which stores information and intelligence about convictions and reports of crime, when he appeared before magistrates in Teesside yesterday.

Anne Mitchell, prosecuting, said he looked up his son on the system after being turned down for a job in North Yorkshire's Major Investigation Team because he had not disclosed that his son had a conviction for possession of cocaine. He also looked up another family member, but did not find any information.

Officers from Cleveland Police asked the prosecution to apply for an order banning reporting some parts of the case yesterday, namely the fact that Mr Watson had been working on Operation Bounce, which the defence had said was an investigation into Asian officers.

Detective Constable Stephen Burke, of the force's professional standards department, argued it could prejudice some ongoing civil cases and criminal proceedings.

But magistrates denied the application after hearing representations from the press.

The court heard that prosecution witness Detective Chief Inspector Andrew Greenwood, had asked permission from the force to give evidence for Mr Watson and had written him a testimonial, which it emerged had later been changed.

Robin Patton, for the defence, said: "Did they (professional standards) refuse to let you give evidence for him?"

Mr Greenwood replied: "No... I was advised to provide a testimonial.

"I was told to provide a testimonial instead of giving evidence. I sent it to professional standards."

Mr Patton asked if they had changed his testimonial and Mr Greenwood denied this, but said they had made some "suggestions", which involved removing the words "trust" and "honesty" from his character reference for Mr Watson.

Magistrates heard Mr Watson's career included 15 years with Special Branch, where he was part of the inquiry into the 7/7 London bomb attacks, with access to the "highest level of security clearance".

Most recently he had been working as a police staff investigator at Cleveland Police, but is currently suspended until the outcome of his trial.

DC Burke showed the court evidence of a training document for the IRIS system, which warned that misuse of the system could lead to disciplinary action, with a large picture of Alan Sugar and "You're Fired" written on it.

"A bit of humour, your honour," he said.

Magistrates also heard that the IRIS system also features a warning as it is accessed, which advises against using the information for anything other than policing purposes.

But Mr Patton pressed the prosecution witnesses on whether vetting people for jobs fell under policing purposes, and whether IRIS was commonly used for more than policing purposes.

The trial was adjourned until September 26, when the defence case will be heard.