Telegraph : Mystery surrounds death of Manchester police chief Michael Todd

Mystery surrounds death of Manchester police chief Michael Todd

By Nigel Bunyan, Nick Allen and Gordon Rayner | March 12, 2008

A post mortem examination of the body of Manchester police chief Michael Todd has shown "no obvious cause of death", the coroner has said.

It was originally thought the chief constable may have committed suicide.

Dewi Pritchard Jones, the coroner for North West Wales, said they were hoping to have the results of toxicology reports by Thursday morning.

Chief Constable Todd's snow-covered body was discovered near a path on Tuesday afternoon, 3,000ft up Snowdon.

Colleagues had been concerned for his welfare after receiving a series of "desperate" phonecalls from him on Monday.

A source claimed the senior officer had been drinking before his death, and was discovered "reeking of gin".

Michael Todd had also used his mobile phone to text members of his family in the hours before he died, sources said.

He was found partially clothed, although it was unclear whether he had taken his own clothing off or it had been ripped off in a fall.

Mr Todd was found slumped face down. No tablets or pills were found at the scene.

He was carrying his warrant card and his jacket was found nearby.

Police will study the text messages he sent to assess his state of mind at the time he died.

North Wales Coroner Dewi Pritchard-Jones is understood to be keeping an open mind about whether Mr Todd intended to kill himself.

The high-flying 50 year-old married father of three is understood to have had at least one extra-marital affair and to have fathered an illegitimate child.

Sources said it was an "open secret" that he had relationship with a woman police officer when he worked in London.

He had spoken about committing suicide to friends in Manchester only days before he died.

Colleagues of Mr Todd, who was widely tipped to take over from Sir Ian Blair as Metropolitan Police Commissioner, had become concerned for his welfare when he failed to return from a walking holiday on Monday.

Telephone conversations with some of his closest friends shortly before he disappeared led them to believe he had personal problems and they feared for his safety.

Mr Todd was a very popular police chief whose death shocked officers of all ranks.

Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, said she was "saddened" at the loss of a "distinguished" officer, while David Blunkett, the former home secretary, said he had done a "first class job" during his career.

For the past 10 years Mr Todd had seen his wife Carolyn 47, and children only at weekends, as they lived in Halam, Notts, while he lived in a flat in the centre of Manchester. Colleagues believe the arrangement had put the marriage under strain.

They said Mr Todd had just returned from a make or break holiday with his wife.

One police source said: "He had spoken to a number of people yesterday about his state of mind. A number of personal items were found by his body — various notes written to members of his family."

A police spokesman said officers were unaware of any scandal in Mr Todd's private life.

But Max Clifford, the publicist, said: "Someone phoned me a week ago and they had a Liverpool or Manchester accent. All they said was that they had a story about a top copper and that it was a big scandal and that they wanted to get a lot of money. I didn't hear from them again and there was probably no connection at all with this."

Announcing Mr Todd's death, his deputy, Dave Whatton, said: "Yesterday our chief constable, Michael Todd, was off-duty walking in Snowdonia. Last night we became concerned for his welfare and as a result searches started to find him.

"These searches have continued today and unfortunately this afternoon a body has been found.

"As you can imagine, all of his friends and colleagues are extremely upset. Our hearts and thoughts are with his family."

It is understood that Mr Todd had visited the area around Llanberis, close to where his body was found, while training as a young recruit.

Mr Todd, who had been due at a Home Office meeting on Tuesday morning with several other chief constables, was one of the country's most high-profile officers.

Three years ago he volunteered to be shot with a 50,000 volt Taser gun to convince the public they were safe.

He said: "It hurt like hell. I felt the full surge of the shock from my fingertips to my toes."

He also loved going out on the streets with beat officers and making arrests himself, earning him the nickname "Mr Public Order".

But he was critical of some officers, suggesting that people who watched a lot of television crime dramas, such as Inspector Morse, might do a better job.

He headed an 18-month inquiry into whether CIA "torture" flights had landed at British airports, and last week played host to the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh when they visited Manchester.

Mr Todd began his career with Essex police in 1976, serving as a uniformed officer and a detective and was appointed Assistant Chief Constable of Nottinghamshire in 1995 before joining the Metropolitan Police.

He rose to the rank of assistant commissioner and supervised the policing of the Queen's Golden Jubilee celebrations.

He became Manchester's £122,000-a-year police chief in 2002 and quickly won over the public by putting more officers on the beat and describing Manchester as "a wonderful place, a vibrant city — I'm mad for it".

He added: "I don't like the pompous ceremonial aspects of policing. I'll be out there arresting people myself. I'm here to make Greater Manchester safer."

The death of such a popular police chief led to tributes from colleagues and senior politicians.

Miss Smith said: "Chief Constable Todd has had a long and distinguished career in various forces and has contributed greatly to the fight against crime and terrorism. My thoughts are with his family, friends and colleagues."

Lord Harris of Haringey, a former chairman of the London Police Authority who was on the panel that promoted Mr Todd to assistant commissioner, said he was "a big police officer in every sense of the word".

He added: "He was a significant figure throughout the service, always with a point of view, protecting the interests of his force and of policing."

Mr Blunkett said: "Michael Todd was a decent and committed policeman who did a first-class job in difficult circumstances, including in dealing with counter-terrorism and the tragic death of Detective Constable Oake. [Dc Stephen Oake was stabbed during a police raid in 2003]

"His death is a real tragedy and I personally feel very sad to hear of his loss."

Albert Kirby, a retired Merseyside detective superintendent, said his reaction to the death of his former colleague was "utter disbelief".

He said: "He was one of those unique chief officers who would never ask his men to do something he wouldn't do himself."

Despite atrocious conditions on Snowdon, a Mountain Rescue team recovered Mr Todd's body from Bwlch Glas, 500ft below the summit.

The team, working with an RAF helicopter, had been able to find the body after walkers pointed out some of his personal possessions left on a path above the cliff.

A post mortem examination will be held today.