Ray Mallon says he could face another two years of fighting to continue his crackdown on crime.

The suspended detective superintendent spoke out as Labour MP Ashok Kumar joined calls for Cleveland's chief constable, Barry Shaw, to resign.

Despite being cleared of any criminal wrongdoing last week, Det Supt Mallon still faces 27 disciplinary charges, which he has yet to be interviewed about.

He said all the complaints against him involved allegations of minor misconduct, for which he could not be dismissed.

Yesterday, Dr Kumar, MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, said: "The events of the past week have shown the senior management of the force to be discredited, evasive, and seeming to be running an organisation that is effectively out of control.

"The chief constable resembles a rudderless ship, blown in all directions by the conflicting arguments of his senior officers. I cannot see that there is any alternative other than for him to step down."

No one was available for comment at Cleveland Police yesterday.