Former Devon and Cornwall police chief’s ‘golden handshake’ is revealed

The financial settlement awarded to former suspended Devon and Cornwall Chief Constable Will Kerr following his decision to retire has now been made public.

Police and Crime Commissioner Alison Hernandez has said she is now in a position to confirm Mr Kerr received a settlement payment of £165,539 – the equivalent of nine months of his annual salary.

It means that Mr Kerr has been paid more than half a million pounds by the police since he was first suspended in July 2023 over ‘allegations of serious sexual offences’ which he has always strenuously denied.

The allegations related to his time as assistant chief constable in Northern Ireland but a criminal investigation into the matter has since been dropped.

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An investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) in England is continuing into gross misconduct, although this is not related to the allegations in Northern Ireland.

In July this year Mr Kerr announced he had chosen to retire stating it was in the ‘best interests’ of his family and the force.

At a meeting almost two months ago, Commissioner Hernandez refused to answer questions about a ‘golden handshake’ and said the information would be published in accounts next year.

But today (Friday, September 12) her office has released the information and in a statement Commissioner Hernandez said: “Mr Kerr was suspended on full pay from July 2023 as per the requirements of police regulations while investigations into his conduct continued.

“With no certainty on the length of the IOPC investigation the reality we were facing was significant additional costs to taxpayers and continued leadership instability.

“By reaching a financial settlement, that uncertainty has now been resolved and efforts can now be fully focused on delivering a stable and effective police force.”

The commissioner said she remained ‘incredibly frustrated’ by the length of time the ongoing IOPC investigation was taking.  

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During his suspension Mr Kerr received his full salary of around £197,000.

During Mr Kerr’s suspension, the officer acting for him, Jim Colwell, was also suspended for a number of months for alleged ‘professional standards breaches’.

He has since returned to duties as deputy chief constable having been given a written warning after a hearing determined he breached the force’s ‘notifiable associations’ policy.

Jim Vaughan, a former chief constable for Dorset, came out of retirement to take up the post of interim chief constable in December.

Earlier this year when there were effectively three chief constables in post, two of whom were suspended, the monthly cost to the taxpayer was £63,913.