Marcus Beale: Ex-West Midlands Police counter terrorism boss facing court after secret documents stolen from car

Assistant Chief Constable Marcus Beale has been suspended and faces allegations that he breached the Official Secrets Act by failing to protect the secret files.

He has been summonsed to Westminster Magistrates' Court on December 7 where he will be charged.

The classified papers were stolen from his car in May from a locked box believed to be the boot of the car.

Personal items were also taken.

Due to the nature of the documents lost, the Metropolitan Police Service was asked by West Midlands Police to undertake an independent investigation into any criminal liabilities.

Scotland Yard's Specialist Operations Directorate has national responsibilities in relation to offences under the Official Secrets Act and it was deemed more appropriate for an outside force independent of the officer to investigate, West Midlands Police said.

Mr Beale, a former senior officer in Staffordshire, had led the West Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit for several years and worked closely with MI5 on a number of high-profile cases.

The Express & Star revealed in August that the top officer was being investigated for possible breaches of the Official Secrets Act.

Earlier this year it was confirmed that classified documents had been stolen from Mr Beale's car on May 15.

He was subsequently moved from the Counter Terrorism brief to a new job overseeing motorways policing, health and safety, and the force response control room.

The Met said it would not discuss details of the stolen items for 'security reasons'.

The Met said the documents were of a 'sensitive nature' and the measures had been taken to 'mitigate any potential risk to security or harm.

The initial disclosure came days after the London Bridge terror attack while the country was on high alert following the Manchester Arena bombing.

Mr Beale joined West Midlands Police in 2011 from Staffordshire Police as an experienced Assistant Chief Constable.

He was one of four senior officers who were investigated by the Independent Police Complaints Commission over the botched Kevin Nunes murder investigation.

He faced no further action over the inquiry.

He has led successful operations focused on Syria and Islamic State related terrorism crimes, securing more than a dozen convictions.

His team also caught Ukrainian student Pavlo Lapshyn who was behind a series of mosque bombings in the Black Country and the murder of a Muslim pensioner in Birmingham.

He also oversaw the dropped prosecution of former Guantanamo Bay detainee and Wolverhampton University student Moazzam Begg.