Northumbria police chief Sue Sim makes sexism claim

The former chief constable of Northumbria Police has claimed senior male officers in the force treated her differently because she was a woman.

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 live, Sue Sim said she feared how other women might be being treated in the force.

The claim appeared in an official report which cleared Ms Sim, who retired in June, of misconduct.

Northumbria Police said it was disappointed and does not accept the accusation.

Ms Sim said the formal report into complaints about the way she spoke to officers revealed she was treated differently by some senior officers because she was a woman.

She described elements of policing as "rather old fashioned" and said some senior officers expected to maintain posts until they retired, regardless of their performance.

Ms Sim told 5 live Daily: "I was absolutely shocked that my senior male colleagues treated me differently than they would have done a male chief constable.

"It does make me wonder if they treat me as the chief constable differently than they would a male colleague, then what will they be doing with their more junior colleagues?

"So I think we probably still do have some way to go."

Ms Sim was cleared of misconduct, but an official inquiry criticised her management style and recommended she apologise to some officers.

She admitted she was "robust" and said she and her senior officers were paid well to serve the public.

Ms Sim has now made a complaint against the officers who accused her and asked police and crime commissioner Vera Baird to investigate why the allegations were made.

A Northumbria Police spokesman said: "It is disappointing and a real shame that Mrs Sim has chosen to express these views in this way.

"We do not accept the criticism that she has directed at Northumbria Police, an organisation that she personally was in command of for five years."