Home Secretary appoints two new inspectors

Home Secretary Suella Braverman has announced the appointments of Lee Freeman KPM and Michelle Skeer QPM as new inspectors of police and fire and rescue services. They will both take up the dual roles of His Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary in England and Wales and Inspector of Fire and Rescue in England.

Lee Freeman will leave his role as Chief Constable of Humberside Police in the summer. This marks the end of his six years with the force where it has gone from being in ‘special measures’ to being graded Outstanding and assessed as the highest performing force in the country. He said that the decision to leave Humberside was ‘incredibly difficult.’ He was awarded the King’s Police Medal in 2023.

Since March 2018, Michelle Skeer has been Chief Constable of Cumbria Constabulary, having joined the force in 1990. She performed a variety of operational roles before moving to the criminal investigation department where she held roles at every rank and led on both public protection and serious crime operations. She was awarded the Queen’s Police Medal in 2017.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman said,

“I’m pleased to welcome Lee Freeman and Michelle Skeer to these important roles, where they will play a vital part in ensuring that our police forces and fire and rescue services provide the excellent service that the public rightly expects.”

The new inspectors will take up their duties in August.