SURREY Police and Crime Commissioner Kevin Hurley came under fire when he went public to confirm he considered sacking newly appointed National Crime Agency head Lynne Owens, when she was Surrey chief constable.

Documents released under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) reveal that a series of highly critical inspection reports in 2015 on Surrey Police’s record on public protection and child-safeguarding work, led Mr Hurley to declare that he had lost confidence in Mrs Owens and was considering starting the formal process, known as Section 38, that could have led to her dismissal as chief constable.

A strongly worded 10-page letter Mr Hurley wrote to Mrs Owens in September was made public this week, in which he said she had presided over a “litany of failures” and he held her “personally responsible” for the force’s shortcomings.

At the time, Mrs Owens issued a detailed 19-page rebuttal of his accusations, responding her 26-year police record was “unblemished” and that she had taken “immediate and muscular” action in response to child protection concerns.

This week, she said: “The tone and content of the PCC’s letter was ill-considered and inaccurate. I responded to it at the time in detail reminding him of his praise for my performance and actions taken.

“The documents disclosed through the FOIA also showed that the PCC was supportive of the force’s plans. In that context, the wider correspondence recently released and his latest comments are surprising.

“I was selected to my current role by the Home Secretary after a lengthy and thorough process and am now focused on leading the National Crime Agency in its fight to cut serious and organised crime.”

The Home Office supported the NCA director general. A spokesman said: “Lynne Owens is one of the exceptional policing leaders of her generation and will lead the NCA forward in its vital role of tackling a full range of serious and organised crime threats, including cyber crime, child sexual abuse, firearms and money laundering.”

Defending his actions in the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, Mr Hurley said: “Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary(HMIC) said it had significant concerns about the capability of Surrey Police in safeguarding vulnerable people.

“It’s a failure of leadership. She has let down constables and sergeants and most importantly vulnerable victims across the county. It’s my job on behalf of the public to find out what is going on. I wrote to the chief constable expressing my concerns and asked HMIC to intervene. It’s only because of FOIA requests that this has come to light. I tried to deal with it in a quiet, dignified, measured way.”