DOCUMENTS leaked to The Northern Echo show that Cleveland Police have hired a high-profile local barrister at the rate of £200 an hour to help them deal with the aftermath of Operation Lancet.

The documents show that the York chambers of Aidan Marron QC has worked on Operation Eagle, the disciplinary arm of the controversial anti-corruption inquiry, for 14 months at a cost of £129,650.

In March, local MP Ashok Kumar tabled a Parliamentary Question asking Home Office Minister Charles Clarke "to estimate the costs of Operation Eagle".

Mr Clarke replied that, according to Cleveland Chief Constable Barry Shaw, "Operation Eagle was an internal administrative arrangement by Cleveland Police ... and the costs cannot be separately identified".

The documents show that Cleveland Police called in Mr Marron and his junior barrister, Robert Terry, in January 2000 when it was becoming clear that there was insufficient evidence to pursue criminal charges against the eight officers suspended by Lancet, including Detective Superintendent Ray Mallon.

They show that so far the two barristers have spent more than 1,000 hours on Eagle. This is despite the Cleveland force having its own internal six-strong full-time legal department headed by £65,000-a-year solicitor Caroline Llewellyn.

In response to a long list of questions submitted by The Northern Echo, Cleveland Police last night issued a statement saying: "The costs of Operation Lancet and associated inquiries have been reported by the Chief Constable to the Home Office and the Police Authority in the detail required of him.

"The Chief Constable has always made it clear that, as part of the fairness and integrity of the disciplinary aspects of Lancet, he has sought the advice of counsel. This is to ensure a further independent perspective, in conjunction with that of the Police Complaints Authority, in handling the disciplinary cases."

In March, Mr Shaw was asked by Police Authority member Ian Jeffrey to provide a detailed breakdown of the cost of Lancet. He gave the figure of £3.25m.

Last night, Councillor Jeffrey, who has since left the authority, said: "I have no knowledge of this. I cannot ever recall any references being made to outside barristers. The Police Authority should have been told about this expenditure. When you are talking about spending public money, the authority is supposed to be guarding the public interest.

"The force has its own legal department and I certainly would have asked for some sort of justification as to why it was necessary to bring in outside legal assistance to support a disciplinary inquiry."

The authority's chairman, Ken Walker, refused to comment, but deputy chairman Russell Hart said: "This is interesting information which would need further investigation."

Dr Kumar said: "I am deeply concerned to learn of this development and will be raising the matter with the Home Secretary, David Blunkett.

"I believe there is now an urgent need for a public inquiry into the whole Lancet affair, which would include bringing auditors to establish exactly how much this fiasco has cost the public of Teesside."

Cleveland Police Authority meets today to discuss whether the public should fund Det Insp Mallon's future legal costs now that his insurance has run out. He has offered his resignation from the force so he can stand as mayor of Middlesbrough.

Read more about Lancet here.