A WEST Somerset Labour Party campaigner is calling for a full investigation after discovering that pro-cull representatives were given full access to the police control room during last year's pilot badger cull. Alcombe resident Andy Lewis wants Avon and Somerset's Police and Crime Commissioner Sue Mountstevens to intervene after the details emerged when an official complaint was made against the police following an incident in Carhampton. Mr Lewis, branch secretary of West Somerset Labour Party, said an investigation into the complaint - which was partly upheld - showed the police had been "directed" by representatives from the National Farmers' Union (NFU) and cull company HNV Associates during the policing operation. Mr Lewis, who took part in a wounded badger patrol in the district with anti-cull campaigners, said he had always been led to believe the police were impartial during the cull operation. "There was a heavy police presence, but the police tried to give the impression of being even-handed," he said. "It is truly shocking to learn that we were being watched from the police control room by the NFU. "It has also been said by a police communications officer that the NFU and HNV Associates were 'directing' the operation. "We hope Sue Mountstevens will answer our questions and will tell us that the National Farmers' Union and other outside organisations will not be involved in future police operations." The information came to light after anti-cull protester Christopher Tasker complained he had been treated as a suspect and not a victim after dialling 999 to say he had been assaulted by a cull contractor working for HNV Associates. It transpired that the cull contractor himself made a counter assault claim against Mr Tasker - but used a direct radio link to his employer's representative who was sat in the police control room. Mr Tasker alleged police had taken an excessive length of time to reach him and, when they did, they searched his car for the body of a dead badger the cull contractor claimed had been stolen, rather than asking him about the alleged assault. The police even searched both the glovebox of his car and his hot drinks flask in their desire to find the dead badger, with the officer telling Mr Tasker he was "covering all angles". According to the law, the body of a dead animal belongs the owner of the land on which it died or was killed. The badger concerned had been shot twice and later became the centre of a media storm after protesters smuggled the body out of the cull zone and took it to the Secret World animal rescue centre near Bridgwater. They claimed it was proof the animal had suffered and that shooting free-running badgers was not effective or humane. The police officer who searched Mr Tasker's car claimed he had been "mocked" and "handled" by him but, during the subsequent investigation, apologised for his "poor judgement" in searching his hot drinks flash for the carcass. Officers said the situation that evening had been "very confusing" and had led them to believe the cull contractor had been the victim and not Mr Tasker. The police communication operator involved told Allan Spencer, who investigated the complaint, that there had been two representatives from HNV Associates and one from the NFU in the cull control room that evening. He claimed the contractors "would advise the communications dispatcher where a problem was" which he said "felt as if the contractor or NFU representative was actually directing the police". He also claimed the different parties would often shout across each other, sometimes with conflicting information. Mr Spencer said the representatives had been allowed into the control room to "facilitate the safety of the cull operators". But he also acknowledged this could give the wrong impression. "The mixture of high powered rifles, emotion and darkness were matters requiring careful and deliberate policing," he said. "However, it is also acknowledged that the positioning of the security rep within the police control room did quite understandably give the impression that the police were simply supporting the cull operators at the expense of a freedom to protest by the various badger support groups. "Although this argument has some merit, it must not be forgotten that the cull was an operation conducted by Defra and, as such, the police were not in a position to simply remain passive," He said the actions of the officers who Mr Tasker thought were coming to his aid but instead searched his vehicle would have fuelled the belief that police were "openly supporting the contractors at the expense of any impartiality". Mr Spencer advised that both the communication operator and the officers who searched Mr Tasker's vehicle be given "management advice" after finding that Mr Tasker's assault claim had not been properly logged. The officers had also failed to comply with the Police and Criminal Evidence Act by not telling him why his vehicle was being searched, and were also excessive and intrusive during the search. He also found that an incomplete electronic record of events had been submitted by one of the officers and that the senior officer present failed to ensure the other complied with the Police and Criminal Evidence Act. Mr Lewis said the investigation raised serious questions about the policing of any future culls. "We appreciate that day-to-day operational decisions are a matter for the chief constable, however, we think our concerns raise policy issues which fall within the remit of the police and crime commissioner," he said. "We do not feel comfortable with the idea that a representative of the NFU was in a police control room, apparently privy to confidential information and in a position to influence a police operation. "Our concerns relate equally to the presence of representatives of HNV Associates." The NFU denied any of its representatives had directed police operations during the cull and said the union would continue to work with the constabulary if it was asked to do so to ensure the safety of all parties involved. The police said that having an NFU representative in the control room meant officers had "real time" information about what was happening on the ground and enabled officers to maintain public safety.