THE police commissioner for Cleveland, Barry Coppinger, yesterday called for a report on the wrongful arrest of a North-East solicitor to be made public.

He is right to do so because the circumstances surrounding the treatment of James Watson, which led to damages of more than £500,000, are extremely disturbing.

Mr Watson was arrested in 2009 on suspicion of conspiracy to pervert justice. He was held for 29 hours, his home was searched and his wife and children were unable to leave the property. No evidence was found and he never faced any charges.

Of course it is right to underline the fact that Cleveland Police is now “under new management”.

Nevertheless, it is yet another blow to the credibility of a police force which has had its image dragged through the mud on too many occasions in the recent past.

Mr Coppinger, who is also new to his post overseeing the running of Cleveland Police, says lessons have been learned from the way the investigation into Mr Watson was handled.

Let’s hope so because, even if the damages and legal costs of £550,000 are covered by the force’s insurance, it is a public scandal that so much money has been frittered away on top of the huge cost to the public purse of the various disciplinary inquiries involving Cleveland Police.

The commissioner has asked for the Independent Police Complaints Commission report into the wrongful arrest to be made public so “we can give the full context and details of the investigation to the people of Cleveland”.

Transparency on such a serious and expensive state of affairs is essential.