Police chief defiant over Soham report

A BELEAGUERED was last night involved in a stand-off with the British Home Secretary who had ordered his suspension over the Soham debacle.

David Blunkett demanded Humberside chief constable David Westwood's removal from active duty after the inquiry in to how Ian Huntley slipped through the net revealed "very serious failings" in his force.

Sir Michael Bichard's devastating report concluded Mr Westwood should take "personal responsibility" for errors that meant Huntley's murky past never emerged.