A policeman who sued Lancashire Police for racial discrimination after the force spent three years and an estimated £500,000 investigating allegations that he fiddled £90 on his expenses has now settled the claim out of court.

Detective Constable Jayson Lobo, 37, of Blackburn, Lancashire, was suspended from his job on full pay for three years in September 2003 before he was cleared in a criminal court and by an internal force investigation.

Mr Lobo, who admitted making genuine mistakes in his expenses, was cleared of 12 counts of false accounting and one of attempting to pervert the course of justice when the prosecution offered no evidence at Liverpool Crown Court in 2005.

Lancashire Police proceeded with a year-long misconduct inquiry.

The former AAA 800 metres title holder claimed that there had been a “witch-hunt” against him based on his ethnic background. He was due to give evidence at an employment tribunal on Monday, but the case has finally been brought to a close with the out-of-court settlement.

Mr Lobo said: “I am just glad the whole nightmare is over.”

He added: “I am informed that to date this inquiry has cost the taxpayers of Lancashire approximately £500,000.”

Steve Edwards, the chairman of Lancashire Police Federation, said: “I would urge the constabulary to be more proportional in both their investigations and their decisions in relation to misconduct inquiries and would ask them to revisit their policy on the suspension of officers.”

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