THE Merseyside police officer at the centre of allegations that he is a member of the British National Party has been suspended from duty, it was announced last night.

PC Steve Bettley was included on a list of thousands of BNP supporters leaked on an internet blog.

Merseyside police launched an immediate investigation, and PC Bettley returned from holiday abroad early to co-operate with it.

Last night, at the officer's large semi-detached house, a woman and a girl answered the door and declined to comment before shutting it.

A police spokeswoman said: “Merseyside Police can confirm that the police officer who is subject to an ongoing internal investigation into his alleged association with the BNP has been suspended from duty.

“We would like to reiterate that we will keep an open mind until all the facts around the alleged association have been established.”

It was revealed yesterday that PC Bettley once stood in as the staff driver to Merseyside Chief Constable Bernard Hogan-Howe while a replacement could be found.

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

PC Bettley 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.

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.