AVON and Somerset Chief Constable Nick Gargan has been called on to resign after being found guilty of eight counts of misconduct following an investigation costing nearly £600,000.

Police and Crime Commissioner Sue Mountstevens said force staff and local people had lost confidence in Mr Gargan.

But in a statement issued on his behalf, the Chief Police Officers Staff Association (CPOSA) said Mr Gargan was “disappointed” with the move, was deeply sorry for his mistakes and was committed to learning from them.

“He has complied with every requirement of the protracted misconduct investigation and subsequent hearing.

“He placed his fate in the hands of an expert professional panel, which made a clear recommendation that he should go back to work.

“After five months of investigation and a 15-month process, the panel made findings of ‘flawed judgement’ and ‘ill-advised’ behaviour.

“Mr Gargan’s first priority on returning to the constabulary would be to rebuild confidence in the force and in him as its leader so that he can continue the important work that was underway when he was suspended,” the CPOSA statement said.

Mr Gargan was suspended in May last year and faced 16 allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards female staff and breaches of data protection laws.

The details of the allegations were made public this week and included revelations that he invited a junior female colleague, who was already in a relationship, out for a sunset walk.

He then separately emailed her to tell her she looked “beautiful” and was the “perfect plus one” after she accompanied him to an official function.

He asked another female co-worker out for a glass of wine and was in a sexual relationship with another woman who was working for the force.

An independent misconduct panel ruled that, although Mr Gargan had been verbally warned by Ms Mountstevens not to form relationships with junior colleagues, he had not breached his official employment contract and the panel did not believe his actions amounted to misconduct.

However, they did find him guilty of seven data protection breaches and one charge of the inappropriate use of his police-issue iPhone.

The breaches included forwarding confidential emails to third parties and sending, receiving and storing “intimate emails and images” on the iPhone.

Mr Gargan faced a special hearing with Ms Mountstevens on Wednesday when she followed the recommendation of the panel and issued him with eight final written warnings.

However, she then held a further meeting with Mr Gargan when she suspended him and said she would be using powers under the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act (Section 38) to progress a procedure calling for him “to resign or retire” due to a lack of confidence by local people, police officers and staff in his position as leader of Avon and Somerset Constabulary.

She said: “Chief Constable Nick Gargan has let down the colleagues he led and the communities he was there to protect.

“He abused his position by forwarding confidential emails, interfering with a proper recruitment process and sending, receiving and storing intimate images on his police issue phone.

“As the Chief Constable, Nick Gargan should have led by example and demonstrated the highest levels of integrity, values and professional behaviour.

“Instead he has shown flawed judgement and been found guilty of eight counts of misconduct including two of discreditable conduct.

“From what I have seen and heard, he has lost the confidence of local people, police officers and staff.

“Over the last six weeks since the panel’s findings concerns have been raised to me by the Chief Officer Group, Superintendents Association, Police Federation and Unison about Nick Gargan continuing to lead Avon and Somerset Constabulary.

“I believe that there is now a detrimental impact on the efficiency and effectiveness of him leading Avon and Somerset Constabulary, which is why I have today initiated the process to require him to resign.”

The resignation process is separate to the misconduct hearing and Ms Mountstevens said she would be writing to Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary Sir Thomas Winsor to seek his views.

She said the panel had also raised concerns with her about the Independent Police Complaints Commission’s (IPCC) handling of the investigation.

She added: “The main issue was the disclosure of relevant materials and statements from IPCC investigators including unused material, to the defence.

“The legal advice was unequivocal that the defence are entitled in law to un-redacted copies of relevant material.

“I fully understood the IPCC’s reluctance to disclose identities and some of the associated information.

“I believe the IPCC acted with good intentions to protect and support witnesses and not betray the confidence of those that did come forward, but clearly the way they managed the process in this case has caused concern, as any failure to follow the disclosure process could have led to the proceedings being compromised or worse still collapsing.”

In Mr Gargan’s absence, Acting Chief Constable John Long will continue to lead Avon and Somerset Constabulary until his retirement at the end of the month.

Deputy Chief Constable Gareth Morgan will then take over on a temporary basis as Chief Constable.

CPOSA said Mr Gargan welcomed the publication of the panel’s report and would wait to see what grounds had been given for invoking the Section 38 process.

“We note and respect the views of certain groups of current and retired staff.

“We share their regret that the good name of the constabulary has been tarnished.

“But the overwhelming majority of the rumours surrounding the chief constable have turned out not to be true; indeed none of the initial allegations that prompted his suspension led to a misconduct finding, let alone a finding of gross misconduct or criminal behaviour,” the statement said.