The contact Beds Police had with a suspected murderer the day before a pensioner was killed is being investigated.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission is investigating Beds Police’s contact with Sameer Babar

prior to the murder of Leonard Flower on October 22.

Police officers attended the address of Mr Babar on the evening of October 21 after he contacted them.

Mr Flower, 67, was attacked while working in his garage at home in Luton on the afternoon of October 22 and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Mr Babar, 35, has since been charged with the murder.

Bedfordshire Police referred the matter to the IPCC straight away.

IPCC Commissioner Mary Cunneen said: “We have advised Mr Flower’s family of our involvement and I would like to express my sincere condolences to them at this difficult time. We will be updating them as our investigation progresses.”

Two men who police want to speak to in connection with a robbery are shown in a CCTV image.

The incident happened in Farley Hill at about 10.35pm on December 4 when the victim was pushed into an alley and robbed.

Call Det Con Tom Hamm on 101 with information.

A new improved Early Years Foundation Stage learning space has been opened at Icknield Primary School by Luton North MP Kelvin Hopkins.

The £200,000 development which took only eight weeks to implement is an open plan area,with three separate teaching areas.

Headteacher Lyn Lyman said: “We originally had three reception classes in different parts of the school, making it difficult for children to access all the facilities at the same time.

“Our new space enables us to teach up to 90 children under the age of five in one location and brings huge benefits from sharing best practice among staff to allow the free flowing of child-initiated activities.”

She added: “The project enabled us to review the layout of the school and improve the facilities for hearing impaired pupils. We took full advantage of advice from design consultants and the council to make these far-reaching improvements in such a short time..”

Students from Stopsley High School helped prepare and serve lunch at the GreenHouse on Thursday.

Megan Withley, Bethany Carlisle, Louise Hayden, Jessica Perkins, Eleanor Griffin and Alfie McGivern also joined in with activities at the centre,

which is part of Stopsley Baptist Church.

Visitors to Luton town centre hungry for a bite to eat can enjoy Jimmy’s World Grill with a 25 per cent discount this Christmas – but only if they are a council employee.

The voucher is featured in the ‘Christmas in Luton 2013’ advertising brochure produced by the council and distributed across Herts, Beds and Bucks.

The other offers appear to be for everyone, but on the Jimmy’s voucher it says: “Please present your Luton Council employee payslip”, which a council spokesman said was at the request of the business.

A Luton Borough council spokesman said: “The brochure’s aim is to promote to the public what is happening in Luton during the run up to Christmas, particularly events such as Lighting Up Luton.”

Lighting Up Luton took place on Saturday, and the spokesman said the brochure was available from some town centre stores on Friday, with the “main distribution at the light switch-on event on Saturday.”

Selling of adverts and writing the brochure was done by council employees and took “around 17 hours”. Costs were fully covered by sponsorship advertising and design and printing was via Novotex.

>What do you think?

Lollipop ladies and men gathered to celebrate 60 years of service in Luton on Thursday.

Luton Borough Council currently has patrols at 42 busy and difficult locations in the town who help children cross the road on their way to and from school.

Liberal Democrat councillors expressed fears that the council is going to stop paying crossing patrol wages in April, but the council denied this.

A council spokesman said: “The council has no plans to withdraw funding for the provision of the School Crossing Patrol Service from April 2014. Although the council included a medium term proposal in principle in its 2013/14 budget, more detailed consideration has led to this item being withdrawn for 2014/15.”

When a patrol leaves, the council assesses the site for traffic and pedestrian flow and if it does not meet the national criteria, the patrol is withdrawn.

Leader of the Lib Dems David Franks said he believes the Labour council is “committed to save £210,000 by ceasing all council-provided patrols”.

He said: “There is a really worrying perspective to this. Whilst they are looking for alternative options it is clear our Labour council has no intention of continuing to provide this vital service. They may be able to convince schools that they should pay for the service, but that does not get away from the fact that by withdrawing from the service themselves the council is putting children’s lives at risk.”

The first official school crossing patrol in Luton started in 1954. Luton’s longest serving patrol is Catherine Sullivan who started on November 5, 1979 and has worked at the same site in Trinity Road.

Councillor Dave Taylor said: “Luton’s serving school crossing patrols have between them clocked up 288 years of experience and we owe our staff past and present a great gratitude for the work carried out every school day and in all weathers. The council is committed to actively supporting pupils and parents in walking to school and it’s comforting to know our school crossing patrols are helping to keep them safe on their journeys.”

Heather Pavey, 54, who patrols Putteridge Road, near Putteridge Primary School, received an award for 25 years’ service. She said: “It’s a wonderful job. The children and the parents make it for me, And some of the children who I used to help years ago, I am now helping their children cross the road.”

A student was robbed in Strathmore Avenue on December 8.

Someone shouted “Where are you going” at the victim, 23, and as he turned round he was punched in the head, causing him to fall to the floor. He was then punched repeatedly.

The robbers took a phone, cash and speakers and fled the scene to Essex Close.

The three offenderse are described as being between 17 and 22 years old.

Det Con Cathie Layton said: “This happened early in the evening and a lot of shouting may have been overheard by passers-by. I am interested in locating anyone who saw three men matching the descriptions

given in the area that night as they could have vital information that may help us identify those responsible.”

Anyone with information can contact Det Con Layton on 01582 394442, or Bedfordshire Police on 101, or text information to 07786 200011.

‘Truly songs and tales fall utterly short of your enormity, O Smaug the Stupendous...’

After last year’s fun opener the Lord of the Rings prequel bursts back onto the big screen in all its Hobbity goodness for more fantasy geek action with The Desolation of Smaug.

And just who is Smaug? None other than JRR Tolkien’s great dragon, voiced and even motion captured by the excellent Benedict Cumberbatch, no less.

If you haven’t seen part one, you may well be a little lost as director Peter Jackson offers no recap.Hero Hobbit Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) is pressed immediately into action – and this time there is a lot of action!

Middle-Earth has never looked so good. This is a fully-formed world with an incredibly rich history, intricate lore and a host of fantastic characters, and thanks to this being the follow-on film there is no need to waste time setting the scene.

Bilbo is the designated burglar for a company of dwarves led by Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) on a mission to reclaim their home. They need an infamous stone is hidden among the hoard of jewels and gold amassed by the dragon Smaug. And what a dragon he is… Best. Dragon. Ever!

Along the way the dwarves are hunted by an evil pack of orcs, run foul of a mean bunch of giant spiders and are captured by the legendary wood elves. These various trials allow for some superb fights, adventures and full on action scenes which will have your inner fantasy nerd flipping out. The scenes of elves – including fan favourite Legolas, who makes a welcome cameo – going all out in battle against orcs are some of the most exciting ever.

In addition there is also the awesome wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellan), who brings his trademark gravitas to the proceedings as he works his magic to try and thwart the growing threat of a great dark power – the pay-off of which we will not see until the Lord of The Rings itself.

New characters include the ‘skin-changer’ Beorn (Mikael Persbrandt) who spends his nights as a giant bear, female battle elf Tauriel (Evangeline Lilly) whose role wasn’t in the book, and new heroic human Bard (Luke Evans).

The Desolation of Smaug is an all out fantasy epic which you need to see on the big screen. Here’s looking forward to next year’s finale, There And Back Again.

It was an historic moment at Stockwood Discovery Centre on Thursday when the stolen Wenlok Jug finally went back on public display.

The 14th century jug, worth £750,000, was stolen from the centre in May 2012 and recovered by Beds Police the following September at a property in Tadworth, Surrey.

Since then, the curatorial team at the museum have been upgrading the site’s security and setting up a new case for the exhibit to ensure its safety.

A Luton Culture spokesperson said: “As I’m sure you are all aware, the theft of the priceless artefact was a huge shock to museum staff and visitors, but thanks to the incredible work of Bedfordshire Police, it was recovered, and we are now ready to put it back on display for the whole community to enjoy again.”

Excited students from Barnfield South Academy were there to see the famous local artefact returned in the special ceremony.

In November 2012 a group of Barnfield South students took a surprise trip to their primary school to see the rare item, which was part of a high security operation at the time due to its recent theft.

When the jug was stolen the Barnfield students were in Year 6 at Tennyson Road Primary and had written to the museum to offer their sympathies.

They also helped to raise awareness of the stolen jug by making wanted posters which were displayed in the museum foyer.

For this reason, the students were invited to join Thursday’s VIP event.

Barnfield South Academy Principal Cathy Barr said: “Our students were thrilled to be invited to this memorable and important occasion. Having had the previous involvement with the jug, they were delighted to be able to witness its return to its rightful home. Thank you to Luton Museums for the invitation.”

The bronze jug is believed to be one of only three similar jugs in the UK.

It is thought the jug was given to the Wenlok family of Luton - possibly William Wenlock who died in 1391 and is buried under St Mary’s Parish Church.

In March this year two men who were involved in the theft of the Wenlok Jug were sentenced to a total of eight years in prison.

Ronald Nash, 23, of Tadworth in Surrey, was given three years and three months in prison for handling stolen property and being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs.

Louis Kybert, 25, of Barnstead in Surrey, was given five years in prison for the possession of two stun guns which were disguised as mobile phones, and being concerned in the supply of class A drugs.

He was also given a concurrent three month sentence for breaking a previous suspended sentence.

Several teenagers were stabbed when a fight broke out at a joint 18th birthday party in Stopsley on Friday.

Gatecrashers attended the party and at about 11.30pm disorder broke out resulting in several people requiring hospital treatment.

One man was stabbed in the leg, another was stabbed in the back, a third was cut on his arm and a fourth was cut in the face.

Most of the party-goers were aged between 17 and 22 and none of the injuries are believed to be life-threatening.

Det Insp Sean Quinn said: “This appears to be an isolated incident which involved a number of people who gate- crashed the party.

“We know there were lots of people at the party who have yet to speak with officers and I would encourage them to do so now. They can speak with officers, in complete confidence, but we need to piece together exactly what caused this disorder and identify the person who was carrying a knife.”

An invitation posted on Twitter before the event said: “If you want to fight get out of the building... If [we] don’t know you, don’t bother coming.”

The hostess later posted: “i dont know how many times i have to stress that people we dont know and people that are in high school still are NOT coming tonight” (sic).

Later in the night, party-goers expressed their disbelief at what had happened.

One guest said: “We should have been posting pics of how good the party was not calling an ambulance NO MORE STABBING just have a chilled event” and “why does this always happen”

The hostess said: “just to confirm, neither myself or [other host] are to blame for last night. It was not compulsory to come”.

Everyone who was treated for injuries has now been released from hospital.

Det Insp Quinn said: “Many of those injured left the scene and went to hospital for treatment before officers arrived – I would be interested in speaking to anyone else who was injured during the disorder or anyone who can help identify those involved.”

Anyone with information relating to this investigation can contact the officer in charge of the inquiry, Det Con Raikes, in confidence, at Luton Police Station, on 01582 394338, or Bedfordshire Police on 101, or text information to 07786 200011.

Alternatively you can contact the independent crime fighting charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

It’s no surprise that one of the biggest TV successes of recent years has been dusted down and given the big screen treatment.

But you can’t help thinking that whoever gave the green light to a cinema showcase for the surreal comedy of Harry Hill didn’t really know what they were letting themselves in for.

The speccy silliness of the presenter with colossal collars was deployed to gigglesome effect on TV Burp and You’ve Been Framed.

But before he made those gigs his own, Harry was better known as a Marmite man of mirth – just as many people hated his wilful whimsy as bought in to his flights of fancy.

And that’s the Harry that’s up on screen in The Harry Hill Movie, desperately described as a madcap road trip but looking a little ragged around the edges.

Our hero wants to give his beloved hamster a special treat before the poorly pet dies, so he heads off to Blackpool with deranged nan (Julie Walters) in tow, pursued by a demented vet (Simon ‘Inbetweeners geek’ Bird).

Matt Lucas, Sheridan Smith and lots of other familiar Brit faces also crop up in a fitful feature which will probably baffle those who only know Harry’s humour from his high-profile TV duties.

If that’s not to your taste, then...well, hard luck. The only other offering slated for general release is Moshi Monsters, another spin off and one that is guaranteed to give you a headache.

All six brightly-coloured monsters from the online game beloved of youngsters all over the world – 80 million registered users, mind – are packed into an odd and irritating adventure which will baffle anyone with an age that has hit double figures.

You may also get the chance for something improving for all the family – Walking with Dinosaurs: The 3D Movie is a spin-off from the hit BBC series and much more worthy that the Moshi Monsters mash-up.

Right, Nelson Mandela has now been buried. Can we all move on?

Takes one step back to get a couple of things straight: Nelson Mandela, great man, amazing life, commendable example, not a saint but certainly someone whose life touched millions for the better.

But he was 95. He had been in poor health for some time. It was not, let’s be honest, the most startling piece of news to hear that his long life had come to an end.

A time for reflection, of course, a time for commendation – but I don’t care who you are, your passing doesn’t justify the more than a week of blanket news coverage, po-faced political posturing and the worst kind of hypocrisy.

Most of us, if forced to contemplate how we would like our own passing to be marked, would probably opt for something restrained, respectful, a couple of touching songs, perhaps a few words from someone who actually knew you, some drinks and nibbles and then it’s time to move on. We don’t want to make a fuss.

I entirely accept that a whole nation a very, very long way away will have wanted to mark Mandela’s death with due pomp, but I hope that the great man, if he has been looking down on us in recent days, would have been disturbed by the scale of the ceremonials, shocked by the acres of newsprint and hours of broadcast time devoted to a what is, essentially, an item of news in brief, and disgusted by the sight of two-faced politicians flying in first class from all over the globe to have a ringside seat at the big event and get their picture taken – even if they have to take it themselves.

Many of those who jostled their way to the graveside would, in years gone by, have done their best to make Mandela’s life miserable.

Some wanted to see him stay in jail, some even called for him to be hanged.

But all that is conveniently forgotten when there’s a state funeral to be attended.

Part of this is the Poppy Appeal syndrome writ large – world leaders are so petrified of scoring a PR blunder that they all toe the line without thinking.

They rush to make pompous statements even if they never met the man and were never affected by his life.

They head off for the airport and start to jostle for position in the diplomatic dance that accompanies any gathering of this sort.

I like to think that Mandela would be agreeing with me about the posturing and pomp that we have seen in recent days.

Thanks very much, he might have said. It’s nice to know that you think I made a difference.

But whatever I did in my life, there is still a lot of world to fix.

That’s your job now, so what are you doing spending so much time on me when there is so much work to be done?

The National Union of Teachers (NUT) have slammed the “reckless” pursuit of Putteridge High School to become a Barnfield Academy.

The Luton branch of the NUT said today that they welcome the decision made by the headteacher and governing body on Friday to withdraw from converting .

They said they have always had “deep misgivings” about any association with the Barnfield Federation, which is currently being investigated by the Department for Education (DfE) and the Skills Funding Agency (SfA).

A Luton NUT spokesperson said: “The NUT have always advised the headteacher against pursuing this course of action as we do not believe that academies improve the standard of education and also due to our deep misgivings about any association with the Barnfield Federation.

“In light of the recent investigations surrounding the Barnfield Federation, our views have been entirely justified.

“The headteacher has pursued an expensive marketing campaign to convert Putteridge High School into ‘Barnfield East Academy’ despite not having a final agreement in place from the DfE. This has included parents buying new uniform with the Barnfield logo, which will now need to be replaced.

“We believe that the school has been reckless in the pursuit to become a Barnfield Academy and parents and taxpayers have been left to pick up the bill.”

The conversion was due to take place on September 1 this year but the DfE halted the process after the SfA instigated an investigation into concerns about financial management and governance at Barnfield College.

Chair of governors Bill Pollard said the governors did not want to see the good reputation of the school, which is rated ‘good’ by Ofsted, jeopardised.

He said: “The delay to the conversion process over the last eight months has led to frustration and uncertainty, and the governors felt that under the circumstances of the investigation it was no longer acceptable to align Putteridge High School with the Barnfield Federation.”

Headteacher Helen Beauchamp said securing funding for a rebuilding programme following the withdrawal of Building Schools for the Future funding in 2010 was one of the primary aims of their conversion to academy status.

She said: “The governors and I will continue to work with the local authority, the DfE and the Education Funding Agency to enable us to achieve this goal. The academy order was approved by the DfE earlier this year and the governors have been informed that it remains supportive of our aims.”

Barnfield Federation CEO, Helen Mayhew said “We’re naturally very sorry that circumstances have led to the Governors’ decision at Putteridge. But we respect that decision and, for our part, always put the interests of students and parents before anything else.“

The former director general of Barnfield College, Sir Peter Birkett, resigned from his new role with an international education company on December 4.

In July he resigned from the Barnfield Federation which he founded and the DfE investigation began in October.

Sir Peter said the investigation could be a “distraction” from his role as chief executive of GEMS Education UK & Europe.

The DfE and SfA report from the investigation is expected imminently.

An man on a motorcycle threatened staff and stole cash in an armed robbery at Genting’s Casino on Friday.

The man forced his way through the back door of the casino in Skimpot Road at about 5.10pm.

He threatened an employee and made them hand over a substantial amount of cash.

The offender is described as a man wearing a motorcycle helmet, snap on gloves, which were taped at the cuffs, and a black shiny jacket.

He was carrying a rucksack, possibly with a Nike logo.

A short piece of CCTV footage has also been released showing some of the incident in a hope that the clothing worn by the offender may help identify him.

The officer in charge of this investigation, Det Con Tom Hamm, is keen to trace anyone who can help identify the offender or any motorists who saw the motorcyclist leave the scene, perhaps riding erratically.

Det Con Hamm said: “We know the roads in the area were extremely busy at the time the offence happened and it is possible that motorists saw a motorcycle leave the car park of the casino but didn’t take much notice. However, even the smallest amount of information is vital to this investigation and could help identify the man responsible so I would urge members of the public with information to speak to officers, in confidence.”

Call 01582 394498, or Bedfordshire Police on 101, or text information to 07786 200011.

The council is reminding people to pay their rent and council tax over Christmas or their home could be repossessed.

It’s easy to overspend at Christmas, especially if you have children, and it may be tempting to put off paying rent or council tax but it isn’t easy to catch up afterwards.

The council evicted 15 tenants for rent arrears last year and issued over 7,000 summonses to begin recovery action for council tax.

Cllr Tom Shaw said: “Most people are feeling the economic squeeze at the moment, but please make paying your rent and council tax a priority over Christmas and New Year and don’t risk losing your home. Pay up or seek help immediately before allowing debts to spiral out of control so we can cut the eviction rate, as well as our arrears bill.

“We work closely with the Citizens’ Advice Bureau, Luton Foodbank, local credit unions and a wide range of other organisations offering advice and support to anyone with financial problems. But we will evict or take legal action when necessary against our debtors, particularly where someone won’t pay, rather than can’t pay.”

Call 0300 790 0345 immediately if you are having financial problems and cannot pay your rent or council tax.

You can also visit www.luton.gov.uk/benefitchanges which lists a range of useful sites and contacts, or visit a Customer Service Advisor at the Town Hall.

Council staff will do all they can to help or head you towards independent debt advisors.

A Luton straw boater presented to world famous entertainer Bob Hope has been added to the hat collection at Wardown Museum.

The boater was given to the London-born American comedian as a gift from the Mayor of Luton, Alderman H. C. Janes, in September 1953.

Complete with the original brown cardboard delivery box, still showing its handwritten inscription, ‘Mr Bob Hope, London Palladium’, it has been described as “an extremely rare object and an amazing find”.

The Herald&Post’s sister paper, the Luton News, published a photo on October 6, 1953 of Hope wearing the hat while visiting his Aunt Lucy in Hitchin.

He said it was a perfect fit and told the paper: “If Crosby could only see me now.”

The boater, believed to have been made by the company H. Briars, of May Street, Luton, was bought by the Friends of Luton Museums and is now on display. It adds to the museum’s collection of 1,000 hats, including Luton boaters worn by Maurice Chevalier in the 1930s, Bud Flanagan of The Crazy Gang in the 1960s and Luton Town FC captain Syd Owen in 1959.

The museum would now like to add more celebrity boaters to the collection, like those worn by Frankie Vaughan and Elton John, provided they were made by Luton hat manufacturers.

A delayed decision on the expansion of London Luton Airport is expected to be made at a meeting on Friday.

The development control committee has been recommended to approve the application to increase passenger capacity from 12 million to 18 million a year.

Campaigners against the expansion have called the meeting “undemocratic” as it is taking place during the working day and they claim many people registered to speak were not informed of the new meeting date.

John Magill from Wigmore said: “It seems rather weird that this meeting is on the last Friday before Christmas at 10am. It’s not right. It makes it very difficult for the 70-odd people who were registered to speak at the meeting against the expansion to attend. It seems like the situation is being manipulated in favour of the council and the airport who are singing from the same hymn sheet.”

Mr Magill was due to go on holiday on Friday but is trying to rearrange it so he can still speak at the meeting.

The original meeting was deferred after Herts County Council demanded a second, impartial, legal opinion on Luton council’s suitability to make the decision, given its position.

Describing the delay until just before Christmas as ‘regrettable’, a council spokesman said: “Our role as a local planning authority is entirely separate to that as shareholder of London Luton Airport Ltd. Each is run wholly independently of each other. Government policy is for decisions on planning applications to be made locally wherever possible and this is normal practice for councils.”

In addition the council is also bound to seek authorisation from the Secretary of State of Communities and Local Government before approving the bid.

Luton Borough Council has received 455 objections and 43 representations in support of the application, which involves construction of a multi-storey car park, road layout changes and taxiway extensions.

A Luton Borough Council spokesperson said “The matter is being considered on Friday in order to avoid any further or undue delay. Representatives of third parties who responded to the statutory planning consultation have been invited to address the committee if they wish to do so. In order to ensure that sufficient time is allocated to this important process, it was therefore decided a daytime meeting is most appropriate.”

A shop manager was threatened with a drill bit by a robber in Dudley Street.

A man entered JJ Foods between 9am and 9.10am and threatened the 39-year-old manager, asking for cash.

He tried to grab the till and the manager sounded the shop alarm system, causing the offender to flee the scene empty-handed.

Det Con Matt Shepherd said: “This was a shocking incident for the victim.”

The offender is described as a white man in his 30s wearing a blue UCLA hooded top. Call 101 with information.

A rise in council tax could be the only way to protect policing in Bedfordshire, the Police and Crime Commissioner has said.

Olly Martins made the statement following the Provisional Police Funding Announcement yesterday.

The force now has to save £8.5 million in the next two years compared to the £7.5 million it was expected to save previously.

Mr Martins said: “We are still being held to ransom by the current situation regarding the amount of council tax people can pay towards policing, which is effectively capped at a 2 per cent rise by the need to hold a referendum if a higher increase is proposed.

“I do not relish increasing people’s council tax but the amount would be modest, many people tell me they are prepared to pay more for policing and the government leaves me with little other option. So we need the detail around any precept flexibility to be made clear as soon as possible in the New Year, as this is a critical element to our budget making decisions, which need to be taken by the end of January.”

In the summer HM Inspector of Constabulary reported that Beds Police is “a financially vulnerable force”.

Mr Martins said the government is still considering whether the force’s needs are significant enough for more money to be raised locally.

Mr Martins expressed frustration that some of the policing budget was being reallocated to other areas such as the expansion of the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) which will get £18 million.

A Police Innovation Fund will be established next year, funded by £50 million from the Police Main Grant.

This is intended to provide PCCs with “the opportunity to submit bids on initiatives that will promote collaboration” such as partnerships with other forces, emergency services and local government.

It is also intended to help PCCs improve their use of digital working and technology to help improve efficiency in their police force’s future operations.

Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) will be given £9.4m from the police settlement to fund a new annual programme of force inspections.

The Minister of State for Policing, Criminal Justice and Victims, Damian Green, said this will enable the public to see how well their force is performing when it comes to cutting crime and providing value for money.

Mr Martins said: “It’s not new money, simply recycled money and frankly I would rather see most of it in the county’s police budget paying for frontline policing. That is certainly what the public tell me they want to see.”

Bedfordshire Police is being investigated by the police watchdog in connection with the Ian Watkins paedophilia case.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) is investigating the force along with South Wales and South Yorkshire Police in connection with their handling of allegations that the lead singer of the Lostprophets was abusing children.

Watkins was given a 35 year sentence including 29 years in prison yesterday.

The IPCC is investigating the effectiveness of the forces’ response to reports of abuse made to them between 2008 and 2012.

Following a referral on December 4 2013, the IPCC is independently investigating Beds Police’s handling of information from a member of the public who reported an allegation of child abuse against Watkins to the force in October 2012.

The force Professional Standards Department initially investigated a complaint and found that no action was necessary and notified the complainant of their findings in September 2013.

Beds Police has now received a further complaint that the member of the public is not satisfied with the force’s actions in October 2012 and the IPCC has begun an independent investigation.

IPCC Commissioner Jan Williams said: “No-one can fail to be shocked by the vile details of Ian Watkins offending that emerged in court last month.

“As the criminal proceedings have now ended, questions are now rightly being asked as to whether Ian Watkins could have been brought to justice sooner, what steps were taken by police in response to allegations made against him as far back as 2008 and whether his celebrity status had any impact on the investigation.

“That is exactly what the IPCC is seeking to establish.

“We now have three separate independent investigations into South Wales, South Yorkshire and Bedfordshire Police running alongside each other involving the handling of information held on Mr Watkins prior to his arrest.

“But this is complex and will take time. There are clearly links between the three investigations which cover a four year period and involve numerous allegations and reports and the police response to each must be considered.”

Within a referral to the IPCC from South Wales Police, four other forces were named as having provided information to the force.

As a result of this, the IPCC wrote to South Yorkshire, Bedfordshire and Essex forces, and the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), in February 2013 asking them to carry out a review of all the relevant information they held relating to the case.

The IPCC is now carrying out three separate independent investigations