Police chief 'killed himself after threat of exposure'

London: The Chief Constable of Greater Manchester, who was found dead in Snowdonia on Tuesday, had decided to commit suicide after facing damaging allegations about his private life, police sources have disclosed.

Michael Todd had been drinking heavily and his body "reeked of gin" when it was found slumped face down and covered in snow 100 metres from the summit of Snowdon.

He had sent a string of harrowing text messages to his family from his BlackBerry before his death, leading to a frantic search for him late on Monday.

A nearly empty bottle of gin was found near his body and he was not wearing a coat. Toxicology tests were being carried out to see if he had taken any pills.

Todd had not, as had been claimed, jumped to his death. Although his body was discovered at the bottom of a slope, apparently he had suffered no injuries to suggest a significant fall. Instead, investigators were focusing on the theory that he might have died of exposure or hypothermia.

Police sources, however, made it clear that they believed Todd's intention had been to take his life. He was understood to have suffered from bouts of depression and to have talked about suicide before.

The 50-year-old had returned only a few weeks earlier from a holiday to Jamaica with his wife Carolyn, 47, a source said. They had been married 27 years.

But a Sunday newspaper was believed to have been investigating his private life with a view to publishing an expose. In telephone conversations with friends in the days before he died he had spoken about ending his life because of "personal" problems.

Charismatic figure

A charismatic and popular figure, Todd was known to have had an extra-marital affair with a female officer at Scotland Yard when he worked there. He was believed to have fathered a child by the woman, who is now a detective.

Rumours were circulating in Manchester on Wednesday night that Todd had been having an affair recently with a senior businesswoman.

One colleague said: "He was well known to enjoy the company of ladies. Some were linked with him. He was a flirty, friendly kind of guy. "But he was very proud of what he had achieved in Manchester and would be very worried about damaging the reputation of the force.

Inquiry

No suicide note

An inquest into the death of police chief Michael Todd was due to open yesterday. The coroner has taken the unusual step of calling for a preliminary pathologist's report because of the amount of publicity surrounding the death of the Greater Manchester Police chief constable.

A post mortem carried out on Wednesday revealed no obvious cause of death, North West Wales Coroner Dewi Pritchard-Jones said.

The father of three had spoken to colleagues about problems in his personal life in the days before his death, according to media reports. But police denied reports that suicide notes had been found near the body.

Further tests will be carried out, including toxicology levels.

Officers launched a search after the police chief failed to return from a walk in the Welsh mountains on his day off on Monday.

Todd was described in a statement given on behalf of Acting Chief Constable Dave Whatton as an outstanding police leader who was "rightly recognised not just as one of Britain's leading police officers but one of the world's".