Margaret Thatcher’s government helped keep Greater Manchester’s most controversial police chief in his job during the height of the infamous Aids row, the M.E.N. can reveal today.

Sir James Anderton faced calls to quit after claiming that victims of the disease were in a ‘human cesspool of their own making’.

Now documents secured by the M.E.N. give an incredible insight into the 1986 political storm - and show how close the country’s second largest police force came to meltdown.

We can reveal:

• How the government staged a series of crisis meetings aimed at keeping Sir James in post
• Other chief constables accused Sir James of ‘bringing ridicule’ on the police service
• Senior civil servants were dismayed over the top cop’s ‘religious overtones’ and feared he had a ‘taste for martyrdom’
• PM Margaret Thatcher privately backed Sir James’s right to speak out - and stamped down demands for a public inquiry into the state of the force

Click here to read all the newly-revealed secret documents on the Anderton affair

Comment: Anderton affair is reminder of how tolerance has advanced

Confidential letters and memos reveal for the first time how the government worked to patch up a rift between the chief constable and local police bosses which would have thrown the beleaguered force into chaos.

Known as ‘God’s Copper’, Sir James – who headed Greater Manchester Police between 1975 and 1991 – was arguably Britain’s best known policeman, attracting national attention for his outspoken views.

But his day-to-day duties were overshadowed when he addressed a police training event in Manchester, telling the audience that HIV and Aids patients were ‘swirling around in a human cesspool of their own making’.

Weeks later he repeated the comments in an interview on a BBC religious programme.

The comments were viewed as an inflammatory attack on homosexuals.

Graham Stringer, then Manchester council leader, wrote to then home secretary Douglas Hurd calling for him to reprimand the officer.

The council, he wrote, was used to the chief constable expressing his ‘unusual personal views’ but ‘on this occasion James Anderton has just gone too far’.

"The chief constable is irresponsible and must be brought to task for what should be seen as a serious breach of discipline," he wrote.

The declassified dossier also reveals how prime minister Thatcher defended Sir James’ right to voice his opinions – although she did not indicate whether or not she backed his views – and brushed off calls for a public inquiry.

In a note to the Home Office, her private secretary wrote: "The Prime Minister has commented that it would be outrageous if the Chief Constable were required to seek clearance for all his public speaking engagements."

Sir James was president of the police chiefs’ association Acpo and his inflammatory comments also raised the ire of his colleagues.

Sir Lawrence Byford, the chief inspector of constabulary, described a hastily convened meeting of chief constables from other forces.

"Mr Anderton was told that some of his recent public statements had brought ridicule upon both the association and the police service and had helped fuel the case of left wing militants."

He added: "He is his own worst enemy. At his best he captures the public’s imagination and support when he articulates his views so persuasively but then he tends to ruin his fruitful endeavours by going too far with his extreme language and religious overtones."

The comments were also the last straw for Greater Manchester Police Authority, the body made up of elected representatives from the region’s councils. Several of its members were now calling for the chief constable’s head.

Although the authority did not have the formal power to sack the chief constable, a vote of no confidence would make it impossible for him to continue.

A memo drafted by the police authority clerk Roger Rees warned that if the chief constable did not reassure authority members then a vote of no confidence would take place.

He added: "If such a breakdown in relationships occured and such a resolution is passed... the position of the chief constable would become very difficult if not impossible... and in the long term the position is untenable."

And, while primarily concerned with smoothing over the row, Home Office staff also considered what action they might have to take.

Sir Brian Cubbon, a senior Home Office civil servant, wrote: "The private message to Mr Anderton should be, after much concern for his position, that the Secretary of State is bound to be concerned ... In these circumstances it could ultimately become very difficult for him to avoid taking some action himself. That would be enough of a signal that section 29 [of the Police Act, which allows chief constables to be removed] is not totally off the horizion."

In an effort to calm the storm, GMP chairman Stephen Murphy sought to rein in the police chief from further controversial remarks.

Meeting with the Home Office in January 1987, Mr Murphy said the authority wanted Sir James in future to seek clearance before he undertook public speaking engagements.

A ‘gagging letter’ - to this effect - had been drafted by the police authority but Home Office officials persuaded them not to send it to the police chief until they had exhausted the diplomatic process.

Days later, Sir James was summoned to London for a meeting with senior civil servants.

Before the meeting, Sir Michael Partridge, another senior civil servant, had warned of the difficulties in handling the police chief, writing:

"It will be difficult to persuade Mr Anderton to accept any criticism of his behaviour. He feels persecuted and embattled in his fight against what he sees as evil forces, not only in his Police Authority but in the country at large.

"But we must try... to get him to see that everyone is not against him, and that he must think of others... and not so much of himself and his conscience."

Another Home Office memo also warned that the police chief had a ‘possible taste for martyrdom’.

Minutes from the discussion reveal Anderton felt unfairly treated by the BBC who ‘had edited his radio interview very heavily’ and misrepresented his comments.

But he also appeared to have had no idea that the remarks would cause controversy.

The minutes for the meeting stated: "Despite the fact that the BBC had made it clear to him that the broadcast would offer an opportunity for him to clarify his position on AIDS, Mr Anderton clearly thought that there would have been no reason for him to anticipate any controversy."

It continued: "Mr Anderton said that he was governed in all that he did by his religious beliefs and that, indeed, police officers were daily called upon in court to take an oath on the Bible: religious beliefs and police work could not, therefore, be entirely separated."

A third ‘clear the air’ meeting between Sir James and members of the police authority was staged in London later that month. The summit was carefully stage-managed to ensure neither party could voice their opinions to lobby journalists waiting outside, possibly inflaming the delicate talks.

During the summit, Sir James appeared unrepentant and pointed out that 'he could not be ordered not to speak his mind on issues which concerned him'.

Exasperated GMPA officials pointed out that ‘he was a controversial figure whose utterances would always risk being sensationalised'.

Eventually, it was agreed that the authority bosses held regular informal meetings with the chief constable, where he would inform them of any media or public appearances.

After the meeting, a short statement agreed that both parties agreed to work towards ‘a good and harmonious working relationship’.

But the controversy was not yet over. The Aids comments had come in the immediate aftermath of the Stalker Affair - in which Sir James's deputy John Stalker had been wrongly accused while investigating allegations about Northern Ireland’s police force.

The force had also been criticised for taking Myra Hindley to Saddleworth Moors to identify the graves of her child victims: a secret operation which had quickly descended into a media circus.

The latest controversy heaped additional pressure on the beleaguered police force.

Terry Lewis, then Labour MP for Worsley, had written to demand a public inquiry into the state of policing in the region.

But the PM flatly rejected the calls for an independent inquiry, arguing that the process would do more harm than good.

In a letter addressed to Lewis, she wrote: "Douglas Hurd has welcomed the agreement [between Sir James and the police authority], and so do I.

"A positive determination to tackle policing problems is more likely to lead to results than inquiries."

When contacted by the M.E.N. Sir James did not wish to discuss or comment on the issues - but gave his consent for the information to be released. Mrs Thatcher’s office also gave its consent.

• Click here to read all the newly-revealed secret documents on the Anderton affair
• Comment: Anderton affair is reminder of how tolerance has advanced

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