Policeman at centre of race row receives £90k salary as force is accused of 'burying' news

A police authority was last night accused of trying to bury news that two controversial officers have been given £90,000-a-year jobs as Commanders.

Chief Superintendent Ali Dizaei, who has alleged racism in the force, and Superintendent Maxine de Brunner, once accused of making false claims to Prince Charles against former Royal butler Paul Burrell, were appointed by the Metropolitan Police Authority.

But the MPA was accused of sneaking out the announcement at 11.35 on Friday night in an attempt to bury the news while the media was concentrating on the miracle of nine-year-old Shannon Matthews being found alive.

Richard Barnes, the leading Tory on the MPA, who was not on the six-strong appointments panel, said: "It is almost as if they are ashamed of these appointments.

"One wonders why they sent this information out in the middle of the night when most people are in bed."

Mr Dizaei, 45, was passed over for promotion a year ago after he angered colleagues by writing a book serialised in a newspaper.

The Iranian-born father-of-three, who was head of policing in Hammersmith and Fulham, has since been elected president of the National Black Police Association.

In his book, Not One Of Us, he attacked a four-year corruption inquiry against him in the late Nineties.

Mr Dizaei wrote of being falsely accused of drug abuse, hiring prostitutes, spying for Iran and making threatening calls to a girlfriend.

In 2003, he was cleared of perverting the course of justice and fiddling his expenses at an Old Bailey trial, which included claims he had six mistresses.

Eventually, a deal brokered by Met Commissioner Sir Ian Blair resulted in Mr Dizaei getting £60,000 compensation and being placed on a chief officers' promotion course in return for dropping a race-discrimination claim.

Ms de Brunner was accused five years ago of making false claims against Mr Burrell that he had sold items abroad which had belonged to Diana. Mr Burrell was cleared when his trial collapsed.

An independent inquiry later effectively exonerated Ms de Brunner, then the Detective Chief Inspector who led the investigation, but she agreed that she had failed to alert Prince

Charles that she had given him mistaken information.

An MPA spokeswoman said last night: "There were meetings of the board during the day. People had to be contacted.

"We released the information as soon as the people involved had been told."