Thieves steal secret papers from 'West Midlands Counter Terrorism chief's' car

Thieves targeted the unmarked police vehicle, widely reported today to have been used by Assistant Chief Constable Marcus Beale, and took a locked box containing secret papers from the boot.

It comes as the country is on high alert after three terrorism attacks in just three months, including two in the space of the last fortnight.

So far the force has refused to confirm or deny Mr Beale – a former Acting-Deputy Chief Constable at Staffordshire Police – is the officer involved, but he has been widely named in the media.

West Midlands Police spokesman Craig Hughes said: “An investigation has been launched after items were stolen from a West Midlands Police officer’s unmarked car.

"A number of personal items were taken during the theft along with a locked metal box that contained documents relating to police matters. The box was locked in the boot.

"The officer remains at work."

Labour West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson said: "There are active investigations underway.

"At the appropriate moment we will be holding West Midlands Police to account for this incident."

In his current role, Mr Beale spends most of his time overseeing the West Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit (WMCTU) which covers the entire West Midlands region, including Staffordshire and Shropshire.

The counter terrorism unit is one of the busiest in the country and has run a number of high-profile operations that have disrupted some of the most significant UK mainland terrorist plots in recent years, including the 'London Stock Exchange' plot in 2010, the foiled suicide attack plan in 2011, and the failed attack on the Dewsbury EDL in 2012.

But the unit was hit by controversy after a terrorism case against former Guantanamo Bay detainee Moazzam Begg was dropped on the day the trial was meant to start at the Old Bailey in 2014.

Mr Begg, from Sparkhill in Birmingham, was charged with Syria-related offences but Mr Beale said 'new information' – believed to come from MI5 – led to the police dropping the prosecution.

Mr Beale joined the West Midlands force in June 2011 as an experienced Assistant Chief Constable, having served at that rank for the previous four years with Staffordshire Police and as Acting-Deputy Chief Constable.

Last year he was one of four chief officers to be told they face no further action following a lengthy corruption inquiry over the botched Kevin Nunes gangland murder case in Pattingham in 2002.