Police misconduct proceedings against a chief constable which cost almost £350,000 of public money “could – and should – have been avoided”, a panel has ruled.

Simon Byrne was suspended as chief constable of Cheshire Constabulary last year after being accused of breaching standards of professional behaviour in respect of authority, respect and courtesy and discreditable conduct.

At a hearing at Warrington Town Hall on Tuesday, police and crime commissioner David Keane said the panel, led by Rachel Crasnow QC, had found no allegations of misconduct or gross misconduct were proved against Mr Byrne.

Simon Byrne
No misconduct allegations against Simon Byrne were proved (Cheshire Constabulary/PA)

The 55-year-old, whose contract with the force has expired since his suspension, said he was pleased to have been “totally exonerated” following the allegations he bullied and belittled staff after moving from the Met Police to take up the top role at the Cheshire force in 2014.

In its report, the panel said: “This misconduct panel has been an unfortunate experience for all concerned and our overriding conclusion is that it could – and should – have been avoided.

“We have reflected at length on the circumstances which led to such a time consuming (and costly) process being used to try and resolve what was essentially a clash of cultures, personalities and attitudes within Cheshire Constabulary following Mr Byrne’s arrival.”

The panel, which found a number of the 74 allegations were exaggerated by witnesses, said guidance and mentoring for chief constables should be welcomed by police forces to prevent a similar situation.

The misconduct hearing in July was told Mr Byrne had a reputation for being like Darth Vader and treated junior officers and staff like “roadkill”.

The panel heard he handed pictures of Dad’s Army characters to officers after he became angry when flooding made him late for work.

However in its report, it found the incident was an example of Mr Byrne’s “approach to leadership” and it was wrong to attribute “malevolent intent” to it.

Speaking after the hearing, Mr Byrne said: “This whole affair has been an ordeal for all parties that has gone on too long and wasted precious public money scrutinising my conduct when leading what Mr Keane has described himself as a high performance force.”

He added: “In some ways, it still feels like upside down justice as I have lost my vocation after 35 years of public service.”

Mr Keane said the proceedings had cost just under £350,000 but his office had made savings much greater than that amount over the past couple of years.

He said: “What’s really important to me is that we followed a statutory, laid down procedure with the Police (Conduct) Regulations, that we have had an open, transparent hearing and that we have had accountability within policing.

“That’s my job as police and crime commissioner, to ensure we have an open and transparent police service and that I ensure the police service is accountable to everybody it serves.”

Joanne Moorcroft, secretary of the Cheshire Police branch of Unison, said the branch was “extremely disappointed” by the outcome of the hearing.

She said: “A number of our members have shown immense courage and bravery to come forward with their concerns about the behaviour of Mr Byrne.

“Every one of them genuinely believed and still believes that they were the victim of bullying and inappropriate behaviour.”