WHY THEY VOTED TO SUSPEND THE CHIEF CONSTABLE

THERE are, and never will be, any winners in the James Ashley affair.

The family of the man shot dead by police in Hastings has lost a loved one, the excellent reputation of Sussex Police has been damaged, and seven officers, including Mr Whitehouse and his deputy Mark Jordan, are facing disciplinary action. In some cases even possible criminal charges.

Another senior officer, Assistant Chief Constable Nigel Yeo, could find himself suspended when the Sussex Police Authority (SPA) resumes its deliberations on March 31.

That would leave just two senior officers in charge, Assistant Chief Constables Tony Lake and Maria Wallis.

Sussex Police has never been in such a crisis. Neither has the police authority. The organisation, set up to provide public accountability and to oversee the workings and finances of the force, has been split down the middle.

The SPA is made up of local councillors, magistrates and lay people. Some left the suspension meeting in tears and at least one was unable to sleep that night. Several considered resigning.

The Argus has learned that they took not one but two crucial votes on Monday night.

The first was to determine whether the Chief has charges to answer - and the vote was unanimous that he does.

As one member said: "There was no dissent. It was clear the Chief faces serious allegations and he must go through the disciplinary process."

The charges concern allegations detailed in one of two inquiry reports into the fatal shooting.

The report, by Hampshire Chief Constable Sir John Hoddinott, suggests Mr Whitehouse, 53, gave false information when he publicly backed his officers, saying they acted properly. In fact, the operation was based on flawed information.

Police had been told Ashley was dangerous and may be armed. In fact, he was unarmed and naked in bed when officers burst in.

The second vote was for suspension and that ended in a 9-8 split.

Those for suspension felt that, since the Chief holds the ethics of honesty and integrity so highly, then he should be judged by the same standards.

Those against felt it was wrong to suspend the Chief when his deputy was already excused from duty. It would leave the force rudderless, would seriously hurt morale within the rank and file, and would harm public confidence.

What has emerged since the vote is how popular the Chief is in some quarters and how unpopular he is in others.

Letters of support have poured into police headquarters from around the county from admirers who like his liberal, modern approach to policing. His enemies, on the other hand, are hoping the suspension will lead to his permanent departure.

One Whitehouse supporter put it bluntly: "They have seized this opportunity to try to get rid of him."

The Chief, who has been boss since 1993, upset many in the farming community when he effectively ended live animal exports from Shoreham by cutting the number of days he was prepared to police shipments. There is little doubt he personally objects to the trade and, in fact, said publicly that he was against veal farming.

And he is no lover of fox hunting either, something else that upsets the farming community and hunt associations, especially in West Sussex.

Most Conservatives on the authority, including West Sussex County Council's Tory leader Graham Forshaw, voted to suspend, and most Liberals and Labour members, including the Labour chairman Ken Bodfish, voted against.

One exception was the Labour Mayor of Hastings, Godfrey Daniel. He excused himself from an authority debate on the Ashley affair a year ago because his wife Cathy, a former Sussex policewoman, was the Hastings coroner's officer who first dealt with Ashley's body.

In the past she has had to deal with Ashley's bereaved family, frustrated by constant delays with his inquest, and decisions on whether any criminal charges will be brought.

Coun Daniel did not excuse himself at Monday's meeting and voted to suspend. He told the Argus: "I took advice from the clerk and he was satisfied there was no conflict."

He refused to confirm which way he voted.

Meanwhile, in the background, there is rumour of a coalition forming to change the make-up of the authority and ensure Conservatives take control at the next election of officers.

But one member who voted to suspend told the Argus: "It's rubbish. There is no hidden agenda and there was no outside influences. The discussion and vote was conducted purely on the pros and cons of the case.

"The simple fact is that the Chief has some very serious matters to answer and we want him to answer them."

One Whitehouse supporter has his doubts, saying: "The political knives are out - and the Chief and SPA clearly are the targets."

One man hoping politics will stay out of the affair is Insp Graham Alexander, of the Sussex branch of the police federation.

He sometimes sits in on authority meetings but left early on one occasion. He said: "They were scoring political points off one another rather than concentrating on policing issues.

"This issue is complicated enough and politics can only cloud it to the point where you can't tell what is right or wrong."

There is now little doubt Mr Whitehouse will contest his suspension in person before the authority when it reconvenes on March 31. Whether he will say enough to convince some of the yes voters that he should return to work remains to be seen.

By then, an even more significant event in the Ashley case may have emerged. The CPS is expected, any day now, to announce whether officers involved in the shooting will face criminal charges, possibly one of murder.

With the Stephen Lawrence inquiry and resulting attacks on the police service still fresh in everyone's minds, everyone from the Government down will want to ensure no mistakes are made in dealing with the Ashley case.

Those who voted for the Chief's suspension were: Geoffrey Theobald (politician), Godfrey Daniel (politician), Graham Forshaw (politician), Sally Haslam (independent), Margaret Johnson (politician), Ann Swain (independent), Margery Turner (independent), Thomas Wiggins (magistrate), and Merryl Dean (magistrate).

Against were: Ken Bodfish (politician), Michael Tunwell (politician), Judith Corcho (independent), Christopher Garrett (magistrate), Douglas Mayne (politician), David Rogers (politician), Dr James Walsh (politician), and Bernice Briggs (magistrate).

RETURNING HOME: Suspended Paul Whitehouse, back from holiday, will have his say on March 31

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.