with his successor Julian Willaims
The current Deputy Chief Constable of Gwent Police, Julian Williams, is set to get the force’s top job on a permanent basis, Caerphilly Observer can exclusively reveal.
This newspaper understands that a decision has already been made by Labour Gwent Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Jeff Cuthbert to appoint Mr Williams to the role and that he was the only candidate to apply.
His appointment, replacing the retiring Jeff Farrar, had been due to be approved by the Gwent Police and Crime Panel, which scrutinises the PCC, on June 16.
However, the meeting had to be cancelled as there is currently no panel convened following recent elections. Members, made up of councillors, are still waiting to be approved by the Home Office.
Mr Williams will instead take up the role in an acting capacity on July 1 before he is confirmed later this year.
The Police and Crime Commissioner for Gwent, Jeff Cuthbert, said: “The current Deputy Chief Constable of Gwent Police, Julian Williams, will be appointed as the Acting Chief Constable of the service from July 1 following the retirement of Jeff Farrar.
“We are currently proceeding with the recruitment process for a new Chief Constable and I will be making no further comment until the conclusion of that process at a confirmation hearing of the Gwent Police and Crime Panel.
“The confirmation hearing for a new Chief Constable will take place at the earliest possible opportunity following the approval of the new Gwent Police and Crime Panel membership by the UK Home Office.”
Julian Williams was appointed Deputy Chief Constable of Gwent Police in January this year after joining the force permanently as an Assistant Chief Constable in May 2015.
Mr Cuthbert’s predecessor Ian Johnston, who stepped down at last year’s election after serving as a non-political independent candidate, said the role of the PCC had to be transparent.
He said: “The general public deserves to know that Julian Williams has been interviewed and been successful in securing the position of Chief Constable.
“My understanding is that there was only one candidate and that is why no formal announcement has been made from the office of the PCC.
“People will be aware that in 2013, Labour MPs made an enormous amount of noise about there being only one candidate for the position at the time.
“Labour MPs said there was only one reason there was a single applicant – because no one wanted to work with the then PCC, myself.
“People are now entitled to ask why we have only got one applicant on this occasion. and is it because no one wants to work with the current PCC?”
A hostile war of words broke out between Mr Johnston and Labour MPs after it was revealed that the then PCC had forced Chief Constable Carmel Napier to retire.
Jeff Farrar was announced as her successor in October 2013, and Caerphilly MP Wayne David questioned why there was only one candidate.
He said at the time that applicants had been put off from applying because of what had happened to Mrs Napier.
Any response from Labour M.P’s ?