THE Operation Lancet inquiry has become the policing equivalent of The Mousetrap - a seemingly never-ending Whodunnit but without any of the laughs.

It has left many issues unanswered and one of the most central has been the question of how investigations into the police are conducted.

On June 21 this year, after suspended Cleveland detective Ray Mallon was finally cleared of criminal wrong-doing, The Northern Echo said: "It is surely not right to have a system in which the police investigate the police. That has to be changed."

Lancet, and the myriad of connected inquiries, has demonstrated as clearly as any episode how important it is for independent investigators to be called in to major inquiries.

In Cleveland, we ended up with the bizarre state of affairs in which the police investigators ended up being investigated themselves by yet more officers from other police forces. A Whodunnit turned into a farce that would have seemed too far-fetched had it been scripted for the stage.

Yesterday, the Government answered the call for change by announcing that a more independent system for investigating complaints against the police is to be introduced.

A new Independent Police Complaints Commission will take over from the Police Complaints Authority, with the power to draft in civilian investigators.

We have also been promised greater openness and - in view of the murkiness of Lancet which has left taxpayers in the dark - that also must be seen as a positive step.

It is right that the Government highlighted the fact that the number of complaints against the police remains low. Inquiries of the magnitude of Lancet are, thankfully, extremely rare.

But effective law enforcement is dependent upon a trusting relationship between the police and the public and that bond has been seriously undermined in recent years by the mess into which Lancet descended.

A more independent system is the right way forward because the trust has to be rebuilt and transparency is essential.

It may be too late in the case of Operation Lancet, but anything which helps avoid a repeat of that particular shambles has to be welcomed.