SUSPENDED "zero tolerance" detective Ray Mallon last night sparked a fresh row, after claiming a critical North-East Labour MP had once admitted that the police officer was the victim of a "personal vendetta".

Detective Superintendent Mallon accused Stockton North MP Frank Cook of switching sides over the Operation Lancet probe into corruption in Cleveland Police.

In recent months, Mr Cook has maintained Lancet must be allowed to proceed, despite calls by Labour MP Ashok Kumar for it to be wound up.

But Det Supt Mallon, who remains suspended as Middlesbrough CID boss, despite being cleared of criminal charges, last night released a letter apparently signed by the Stockton North MP and addressed to the policeman's wife Carole.

The letter, dated April 1998, which was five months into Mr Mallon's suspension, seemed to show Mr Cook's support for the policing style of the man dubbed ''Robocop''.

''The positive policing practised and promoted by Ray is something which I support and something I would like to see more of in Stockton North,'' said the letter.

It added: ''I have no difficulty in believing your assertion that, in this case, the complaints procedure has been, to a degree, hijacked for the prosecution of a personal vendetta.

''Anyone as anti-complacency as Ray will make enemies.''

Mr Mallon last night said it was unfortunate that it now appeared that Mr Cook ''has allowed himself to become hijacked by the very people behind the 'personal vendetta' he himself highlighted''.

But the MP said he had ''no recollection'' of the letter and challenged Det Supt Mallon to show him the original.

Mr Cook conceded that the ''signature appears to be mine'', but added it was ''not written in Cookese - those are not my constructions at all''.

He said he had never thought Det Supt Mallon was the victim of a vendetta and seized on claims from Cleveland Detective Constable Brendon Whitehouse that Middlesbrough CID had ''thought they could do what they wanted''.

Mr Cook said the officer's remarks had exploded ''the myth that there was no justification'' for launching Lancet.