APART from being an extremely expensive drain on the public purse, Operation Lancet has been a public relations disaster for Cleveland Police. And it is not the fault of the media.

Lancet has gone on too long. It has lurched from one embarrassment to another. And it has left local people wondering what on earth is going on.

So we hope Peter Riley, lead officer for Cleveland Police Authority, will forgive us for disagreeing with the suggestion that the media's involvement in future investigations into the police should be controlled by gagging orders.

His report to Sir John Hoddinott, who has been asked by the Home Office to review the police complaints process, is worthy of close examination.

The key paragraph is this: "Consideration should also be given to a system of discretionary court orders to prevent comment in the media on investigations other than as to the stage they have reached."

In other words, papers like The Northern Echo, which have tried hard to keep Operation Lancet in the public eye, might be prevented from commenting on the length of the inquiry or the public cost, or from reporting legitimate comment from others with every right to express a view.

The police are public servants, operating with public money, and the public interest in their affairs is of enormous importance.

Instead of advocating greater secrecy, a police authority - comprising people elected by the public, let's not forget - should be pointing the way to a more open way of keeping taxpayers informed.

It is, of course, important to stress that it is only a suggestion which has been made. We also welcome the fact that it is not supported by authority chairman Ken Walker.

But it is a suggestion which needs to be stamped on immediately because it is, quite simply, the wrong way to go. Gagging orders would simply feed the suspicion and bitterness which have become synonymous with Lancet.

We are confident that it is a suggestion which Sir John Hoddinott will swiftly reject because press freedom is an integral part of democracy.

And we would still like to know how much longer we will have to wait, and how much more public money will have to be spent, before some real answers are given.