Senior Derbyshire police officer back at work after suspension

Chief Superintendent Graham McLaughlin - who is believed to have been suspended from Derbyshire Constabulary in December - has recently been posting about work-related matters on the social networking site Twitter.

This morning he tweeted: "Just discovered a 999 caller has tried to report that there's a problem with her gas top up card... 'Well it's an emergency to me' was her response when told to phone back on 101."

The Derbyshire Times asked Derbyshire Constabulary if Mr McLaughlin had returned to work.

A force spokesman said: "As an investigation is ongoing at this time, it would be inappropriate for us to comment."

In December, Derbyshire Constabulary confirmed that an officer had been suspended - but did not reveal why - and that an investigation was ongoing.

The Police and Crime Commissioner, Hardyal Dhindsa, was also informed.

Mr McLaughlin is head of the operational support department at the force, which includes the armed response unit, the roads policing unit, collision investigations, police dogs and the helicopter.

As a Chief Superintendent, he has sat on panels at gross misconduct hearings which rule on police disciplinary matters.

The only roles more senior than Chief Superintendent are Assistant Chief Constable, Deputy Chief Constable and Chief Constable.

In October, Mr McLaughlin and other Derbyshire officers were deployed to the British Virgin Islands to assist with Operation Ruman, which was the response to help communities recovering from Hurricane Irma.

Duties included uploading aid, re-building schools and homes and training local police officers.

Mr McLaughlin had to stay longer due to the visit of Prince Charles to the area.

Journalists have attempted to contact Mr McLaughlin several times but not received a response.