Police chiefs have heard they may not be able to put the North Yorkshire sexual harassment scandal behind them for another two years.

North Yorkshire Police Authority members have received an update on inquiries into incidents of harassment and bizarre initiation rites said to have taken place at Harrogate police station five years ago.

The Chief Constable of North Yorkshire David Kenworthy told them the findings of an investigation by Nottinghamshire Chief Constable Colin Bailey should not be made available to them until any disciplinary action had been settled.

Mr Kenworthy said: "My view is that you should see it after those disciplinary procedures. My decision with regards to any officers should be seen to be unfettered and independent."

He suggested that if Mr Bailey's report was made available to police authority members, "you could be accused of having got at me".

Mr Kenworthy also told police authority members that an outstanding appeal by one officer against a disciplinary finding could take two years or more to be settled by the Home Office.

Assistant Chief Constable Peter Walker said he had received Mr Bailey's report on May 22. "I have given it careful consideration and forwarded it to the Police Complaints Authority.

Mr Walker's recommendations for action will be considered by the complaints authority and Mr Kenworthy will then decide whether to punish officers involved in the allegations.

Police authority member Jim Fender, a Harrogate magistrate, said: "This is a matter in which the authority is constantly accused of being secretive in one way or another."

County councillor Jane Kenyon, of Whitby, said: "What a complicated system this all is. We are having trouble with all of this. It's no wonder the public are getting confused as to what the real issues are."

Authority chairwoman Councillor Angela Harris said a recent meeting with Home Office Minister Alun Michael about some of the disciplinary issues raised by the North Yorkshire case had been very helpful.

But she said: "Some of the recommendations we would like to see would need primary legislation and we are not going to get that because the Government has too much on its plate at the moment.

"And we need to know whether the public feels there needs to be a root and branch change of conditions of service."

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