Former policeman fights for re-instatement

Stuart Bower, who used to work as a constable with West Yorkshire Police, is trying to get re-instated by the force after clearing his name.

Bower last worked for the force in 1985 but left after being convicted of an offence of arson on a boat he owned jointly with his father-in-law. He spent three months in custody and had another six months of his sentence suspended but was eventually cleared on appeal, nine years later in 1994.

Bower’s fight with the West Yorkshire force goes back to the way he left 25 years ago. He says that his right, to return to his old job, and be entitled to back pay and pension was denied to him because the force said that he resigned voluntarily and was never the subject of complaints and disciplinary proceedings. He has now served a writ with the High Court, naming Sir Norman Bettison, West Yorkshire Police chief constable, as the defendant.

He is seeking the back pay and pension to add to the original sum of £475,000 he received as damages when he cleared his name. Mr Bower said: “It is impossible to put an exact figure on the amount claimed until such times as the court rules on what rank I could reasonably have expected to have obtained had it not been for a wrongful conviction”