The preferred choice for Devon and Cornwall Police’s next chief constable will need to wait a little longer for his appointment to approved after a meeting to rubber stamp his appointment has been postponed.

Will Kerr OBE, a deputy chief constable in Scotland was chosen to run the police service in Devon and Cornwall following the retirement of Shaun Sawyer last month.

Mr Sawyer had been in the role for more than a decade.

The commissioner’s decision was set to be scrutinised at a confirmation hearing of the Devon and Cornwall police and crime panel in Plymouth on Friday September 16 but due to many official meetings being delayed during the period of mourning following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the meeting has been rescheduled for next Wednesday September 21.

Police and crime commissioner Alison Hernandez announced at the beginning of this month that DCC Kerr is the preferred candidate for the job, describing him as “an exceptional strategic leader” and said his “passion for the job and the high standards he holds himself and others to shone through” in the recruitment process.

DCC Kerr spent over 27 years in the Police Service of Northern Ireland and joined the National Crime Agency (NCA) on secondment in 2017. He was awarded an OBE in 2015 and joined Police Scotland in 2018.

As the NCA’s director of vulnerabilities he was national lead for co-ordinating the UK’s domestic and international response to child sexual abuse and exploitation, modern slavery, human trafficking and organised immigration crime.

In announcing DDC Kerr as the preferred candidate for the role, Ms. Hernandez said: “In Will we were presented with someone who was not only an exceptional strategic leader, but someone who was able to clearly articulate how he would use this leadership to develop a police force that worked hand in glove with our residents and partners to tackle crime and protect the most vulnerable in society.”