Former Huddersfield policeman Adam Briggs slammed for snubbing expenses probe

A FORMER Huddersfield policeman has failed to co-operate with an investigation into his expenses.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) concluded that it was "unacceptable" for North Yorkshire Police Authority to give Adam Briggs, formerly of Golcar, more than £30,000 without any means for auditing how that money was spent.

And they’ve ruled that due to his lack of co-operation, "nobody knows what the money has been spent on" and that the expenses claim "does not appear to withstand scrutiny".

The investigation was carried out into financial claims for development training made by Adam Briggs while he was deputy chief constable of North Yorkshire Police.

Mr Briggs is a former Golcar man who worked as a chief superintendent in Huddersfield in the early 2000s and also served in Dewsbury.

The IPCC has today determined that Mr Briggs had been awarded a contract when he joined the North Yorkshire force as DCC in June 2007 which, in addition to his salary, included a non-pensionable payment of £10,000 per annum to cover the cost of private medical insurance and personal development training, the IPCC said.

In total Mr Briggs received £31,647.06 during his time with the force.

In November 2007 Mr Briggs agreed a 24-month contract for personal development training with a company called Enabling Developments.

He claimed the cost of the contract – £11,750 including VAT – from North Yorkshire Police despite already being in receipt of the £10,000 per annum.

The training came to light via a Freedom of Information request by Jane’s Police Review magazine in July 2010 and prompted concern within North Yorkshire Police Authority.

The authority brought the matter to the attention of the IPCC which then instructed that the matter be formally referred.

The IPCC investigation was told the authority had no knowledge of Mr Briggs’ arrangement with the training company and had not sanctioned it.

Chief Constable Grahame Maxwell stated he had not authorised the training and that he had given Mr Briggs "strong words of advice" in relation to not following the tendering procedure. There is no record of the action Mr Maxwell took.

Mr Briggs, who retired from North Yorkshire Police shortly before the investigation began, was asked to assist by either voluntarily attending an interview or providing a statement to explain his decisions. Mr Briggs has not co-operated, the IPCC said.

IPCC Commissioner Nicholas Long said: "The Police Authority’s remit is to scrutinise the expenditure of a police force and hold the senior officers to account."It is utterly unacceptable therefore that more than £30,000 of public funds can be handed to an officer without any means to audit how that money is used.

"Although the Police Authority stipulated what the money was to be used for, they did not check, and even gave Mr Briggs some discretion on how he spent it within the set parameters.

"Although Mr Briggs has retired one would think he would want to take an opportunity to explain what he did with the money and why he claimed a further £11,750 from the public purse".