Claim West Mercia Police AB1 car plate was sold too cheaply

The registration number AB1, which was traditionally used by the chief constable of West Mercia Police, was sold to former chief constable Paul West this month for £160,000 – money which will go towards front-line policing.

The sale sparked protests from a number of retired police officers, who likened the move to selling the crown jewels, and an online petition opposing the sale was signed by more than 900 people.

Now, a Shropshire businessman, who has asked not to be named, said he enquired about buying the plate, but was told it had been withdrawn from sale.

The man said he would have been prepared to pay in excess of £200,000 for the plate, and has questioned why it was withdrawn from public auction.

The plate was originally listed with Brightwells auction house, but was withdrawn from auction after the force received a number of expressions of interest.

The businessman, who has been a collector of number plates for more than 25 years, said there was a lack of transparency over the sale.

"I believe it has been sold for at least £100,000 below market value," he said.

"It was a public asset, and when you're dealing with public assets, it is normal for everything to have to go to a public auction. There doesn't seem to have been any transparency.

"I would have been willing to have paid more than £200,000 for it."

A spokesman for Mr Campion said the registration number had been extensively advertised before the sale: “AB 1 was widely advertised for sale, via an external agency, in national and motoring press as well as at motoring events. Anybody was able to submit a bid for the registration and a number of offers were received. To reiterate, AB1 was sold to the highest bidder."

Meanwhile, a dealer in personal registrations has claimed the number could be worth as much as £500,000.

Alan Hebbs, who works for the plate dealer, Mark Hunt, said: “If they were trying to raise money for the force they have not done a very good job as they have done themselves out of a couple of hundred thousand pounds.

“The AB1 plate is as rare as you can get and it is like owning a piece of fine art or a valuable antique. The AG1 plate is on sale at the moment for £500,000 that is arguably not as desirable as this one.

“It will only increase in value and in a couple of years it could be worth as much as £700,000.”

Mr Campion defended the sale, saying: "In 2017 I think the public would rightly expect me to use the assets at my disposal, such as AB1, to help support their police service, rather than just providing a status symbol for senior officers, which they cannot use anyway for security reasons.

"I am confident that proper process was followed regarding the sale. The registration was advertised openly and the highest offer was accepted.”

It is believed the AB1 registration number was first issued in 1908, and was later donated in perpetuity to the former Worcestershire Constabularly.

It was issued to the force's chief constable Herbert Sutherland Walker and used on his cars until he retired in 1931. It was then withheld for a number of years and reissued again in 1957 to Chief Constable JE Lloyd-Williams, but has not been used for about six years for security reasons.

Ironically, the initials of present chief constable Anthony Bangham coincide with the number plate.

It is believed AB 1 was first issued to the county in 1908.

Mr West, who was the last chief constable to have the number on his car, said he bought the number to ensure it did not lose its connection to the police and the county.

He said: “I am well aware of the acute financial pressures being faced by the police service at present, so whilst it’s not a decision that I would have wanted to make, I completely understand why the commissioner chose to sell an asset like this, especially when it had been out of use for so long.

"However, my family and I didn’t want AB1 simply to be lost to somebody with no connection to policing or to Worcestershire and never to be seen again.”

“I do intend to use the number plate on a car and am committed to keeping AB1 in Worcestershire during my lifetime.

"I’d also like to make sure that its story remains accessible to local communities. I am planning to work with several former colleagues who had an even longer association with AB1 than I, to create some historic displays about the number plate’s unique history for museums and libraries.”