DISCIPLINARY action against the director of finances at Devon and Cornwall police has yet to be resolved despite his suspension a year ago.

Colin Papworth, the force’s interim director of finance and resources, is facing allegations of gross misconduct for his role in the 2005 staff pay row. The exact nature of the allegations against him is not known.

His suspension followed an inquiry led by the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

However, the disciplinary process has yet to be resolved, despite the passage of 12 months.

A spokesman for the police said: “We can confirm that the process is ongoing but we are unable to comment further on the issue until any disciplinary action is concluded.”

Mr Papworth was just one of the senior managers involved in the job evaluation scheme.

It proposed pay cuts for hundreds of civilian staff who then walked out in protest.

His disciplinary case remains the only meaningful action to be taken following the scheme which threatened to cut the salaries of a third of civilian staff, some of whom faced losing thousands of pounds a year.

Former Chief Constable Maria Wallis was believed to be facing allegations of serious professional misconduct when she resigned with immediate effect in July 2006. The inquiry was subsequently dropped on her resignation.

The Devon & Cornwall Police Authority had initiated a process which could ultimately have led to her being sacked.

Similar complaints were also levelled against Assistant Chief Constable Caroline Winter, who stepped down from her post to take a job with Centrex, the Central Police Training and Development Authority. The inquiry against Mrs Winter was dropped when she retired.

The IPCC, which managed an investigation carried out by Gloucestershire Police into the staff pay exercise, has said it will publish “as much information about the investigation as it can” about its inquiry, once the disciplinary process is finalised.

The chief executive of the Devon & Cornwall Police Authority — the body which governs the force — also remains suspended from his £80,000-a-year post following a complaint.

Graham Davey, who has been with the authority for around 15 years, went on leave in March while an investigation was conducted. Details of the complaint, and who made it, are not known.

Mr Davey’s role is described as providing “strategic, policy and other appropriate advice to the authority to enable it to meet its statutory roles and responsibilities effectively and efficiently”.