Merseyside Police top job draws just one applicant

Merseyside Police only received one application for the top job of chief constable, the region's police and crime commissioner has said.

Emily Spurrell has backed Cumbria's Chief Constable Rob Carden as her preferred candidate to replace Serena Kennedy, who is set to retire in August.

She said it was not unusual to have a low number of applicants for the role as the pool of those qualified is small, but she said she was "absolutely confident" in Mr Carden's abilities.

His appointment is set to be decided by a panel at a confirmation hearing next week.

"It's a very good job and a well performing force, so it would appeal to a lot of people," Spurrell told BBC Radio Merseyside.

She said Mr Carden had been "put him through his paces" in the interview process despite being the only candidate.

Mr Carden, who followed in his father's footsteps by joining Merseyside Police in 1992, moved to Cumbria Police to become deputy chief constable role in 2022, and was promoted the year after.

"While Rob was here he did a huge amount to spearhead the COVID response, and was in charge of the response teams around the G7 when foreign ministers visited.", Spurrell said.

The police and crime commissioner said she and the other members of his interview panel were "convinced he had the right attitude for Merseyside and I think he'll do a good job".

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