A POLICE officer who once served as the staff driver to Merseyside’s Chief Constable was under investigation last night after being named as a member of the British National Party.

PC Steve Bettley was among 12,000 people named on a list of members of the extreme right wing group which was circulated on the internet.

The officer’s career was today hanging in the balance as police sought to confirm whether it is true that he is a BNP member.

Chief Constable Bernard Hogan-Howe reiterated last night that the force would not accept BNP members on its staff.

Police are banned from becoming members of the BNP because it would damage race relations, according to the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo).

Last night, Merseyside Police issued a statement saying that “Constable Steve Bettley was an interim Chief Constable's driver for six months in 2006 (April to October)”.

The statement said: “This was for a temporary period between the Chief Constable's official driver retiring, and his new driver being recruited.

“We understand that the British National Party names a Steve Bettley for an alleged association with the party.”

The statement added: “Whether Merseyside PC Steve Bettley was, or is, a member of BNP is subject to an ongoing inquiry.

“Chief Constable Bernard Hogan-Howe has reiterated our position that membership of the British National Party is totally incompatible with the duties and values of Merseyside Police. We will not accept a police officer or police staff being a member of BNP.”

The officer is one of almost 500 people from Merseyside and Cheshire whose names are on the list of more than 12,000 BNP members which includes teachers, former and current servicemen and former police officers.

But Merseyside Police said they were still investigating whether their officer is a member of the party. According to the list, he and other members of his family, all from Wirral, were recorded as being members of the far right political party.

But, when the Daily Post tried to contact PC Bettley last night, we were told he was away and unavailable for comment.