Ex-Northumbria police chief tells of 'sexist, money-grabbing boys' club'

A former police chief has said her biggest battle was with the force's "sexist, money-grabbing" culture.

In an interview with the Daily Mail, Sue Sim, the ex-chief constable of Northumbria Police, said she faced a "boys' club" of senior officers.

Mrs Sim, who retired last year, was the top officer at Northumbria Police when gunman Raoul Moat shot a policeman, his ex-girlfriend and killed her new lover.

She also gave evidence in a high-profile employment tribunal in May relating to alleged sexism in the force.

In the interview she said: "My biggest battle was with a culture that was sexist, money-grabbing and run by a "boys' club" of senior officers who thought they could do what they damn well wanted."

After claiming that some officers made decisions about promotions while playing golf on the force's time, she said: "I don't think the public have any idea of the sort of attitudes that prevail in that force. It was a place of rampant sexism, cover-ups and the sort of behaviour that would not be tolerated in any other workplace."

She added: "It is not a situation that's compatible with 21st-century policing."