Michael Lockwood has resigned as the head of the police watchdog with immediate effect.

It has been reported that the now ex-director general of the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is the subject of a police investigation into a historic allegation.

Lockwood has claimed to have resigned for ‘personal and domestic’ reasons, although the Guardian has reported that Home Secretary Suella Braverman later issued a statement claiming that: “I took immediate action upon being made aware that Mr Lockwood was the subject of a police investigation into an historic allegation, and instructed my officials to ask him to resign or face immediate suspension from his role.”

Lockwood’s role at the IOPC has recently involved his working on the Chris Kaba case, where he was tasked with meeting the family of the unarmed black man who was shot dead earlier this year by armed police. The Metropolitan police officer who fired the fatal shot has been suspended whilst the IOPC completes its investigation.

In recent months Lockwood had expressed concern about cases being referred to the IPOC that involved claims about strip search of children by police officers. He was critical of those cases where it was apparent that children had been strip-searched without having an appropriate adult present.

Before taking up his position as Director of the IPOC, he was previously chief executive of the London Borough of Harrow, north-west London.