The long-running saga of the disciplinary hearing against Simon Byrne, the former chief constable of Cheshire, came to a conclusion last week.

In case you missed the story first time round, Mr Byrne – the most senior police officer in the county – was suspended last year after being accused of breaching standards of professional behaviour in respect of authority, respect and courtesy and discreditable conduct.

At a hearing at Warrington Town Hall, police and crime commissioner David Keane said the disciplinary panel, led by Rachel Crasnow QC, had found no allegations of misconduct or gross misconduct were proved against Mr Byrne.

The claims against Mr Byrne, which included bullying and mood swings, meant his contract ran out this year while he was suspended. He had been selected as chief constable of Cheshire Constabulary in 2014 and suspended in 2017.

The misconduct hearing heard statements that he appeared to be like Darth Vader from Star Wars and that he treated his staff 'like roadkill'.

But the disciplinary panel dismissed claims he 'exploded' over an episode dubbed 'puddlegate', when floods delayed his journey to work. He had also faced a claim that he had assigned characters from the TV series Dad’s Army to staff to suggest they were not performing to standard.

Claims that the chief constable arrested a suspect as part of a competition with other senior officers were also dismissed. There was also no evidence, the panel said, that Byrne was 'aggressive, red in the face, spat and waved his arms in the air when berating' a witness.

The matters were first brought to PCC Keane's attention in October 2016, including a nine-page statement from a witness, which detailed a complaint against Mr Byrne.

And an intelligence report was also received which highlighted a ‘culture of bullying’.

In total, there were 74 allegations against Mr Byrne from a significant number of members of the Cheshire force – including some very senior officers – but the panel felt some of the complaints were exaggerated by witnesses.

In dismissing the allegations, the panel said: “We have reflected at length on the circumstances which led to such a time consuming (and costly) process being used to try and resolve what was essentially a clash of cultures, personalities and attitudes within Cheshire Constabulary following Mr Byrne’s arrival.

“This misconduct panel has been an unfortunate experience for all concerned and our overriding conclusion is that it could – and should – have been avoided."

After the hearing, Mr Byrne, 55, said he was pleased to have been 'totally exonerated' following the allegations he bullied and belittled staff after moving from the Met Police to take up the top role.

But the sad fact is there are no winners here – only losers.

Even though Mr Byrne has been cleared of all allegations, by his own admission the disciplinary process has seen him suffer. The very public accusations made against him may not have passed the test of misconduct but nevertheless did not paint him in a good light.

Mr Keane does not come out of this well either. He has had to endure a fair amount of criticism during his tenure as PCC and this looks like the latest – and possibly most significant – setback.

Mr Keane, who ordered the independent inquiry in 2016 defended his actions in suspending Mr Byrne and said: “When faced with such allegations...I believed I had no realistic alternative but to place the matter before an independent panel for determination of the facts. Any other course would have been against my core values of fairness and openness.”

And what of those Cheshire Police staff members who made the complaints in the first instance?

As Joanne Moorcroft, secretary of the Cheshire Police branch of Unison, said “A number of our members have shown immense courage and bravery to come forward with their concerns about the behaviour of Mr Byrne.

“Every one of them genuinely believed and still believes that they were the victim of bullying and inappropriate behaviour.”

One wonders what effect this ruling will have in the future for staff members who consider themselves victims of bullying and inappropriate behaviour. Who is going to stick his or her head above the parapet now?

And for the council tax payers of Cheshire, we will all be losers, picking up the £350,00 bill for the cost of the hearings plus the £100,000 salary cost of Mr Byrne's suspension.

This is money that could and should have been spent on front line policing.

As I said: No winners, only losers.