The Rule of Law is an important principle which governs the running of democratic states. Is is defined in the Encyclopedia Britannica as “the mechanism, process, institution, practice, or norm that supports the equality of all citizens before the law, secures a nonarbitrary form of government, and more generally prevents the arbitrary use of power.”

In practice it means that all members of a society, no matter what their position and no matter who their friends are, should be subject to the same laws and the same levels of investigation should there be a suggestion that those laws have been broken.

The recent situation in Dorset where an investigation into the death by poison of a White-tailed Sea Eagle seems to have been stopped abruptly should be of concern to us all. The case may specifically relate to a raptor but the suggestion that a police investigation could be influenced by political pressure is incredibly serious.

After the eagle was discovered the local MP, Chris Loder, a Conservative, said he was opposed to the police investigation, arguing that looking into the death of an eagle was a waste of funds. He also said that white-tailed eagles were not welcome in Dorset.

Not long after Mr Loder’s comments a Dorset Police spokesperson said “An investigation under section 1 of the Wildlife Countryside Act 1981 was carried out in conjunction with the RSPB, Natural England, National Wildlife Crime Unit and the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation. A detailed examination and tests have been carried out on the bird, which were inconclusive, and it has therefore not been possible to confirm that any criminal offence has been committed. “While high levels of brodifacoum were detected, it has not been possible to establish whether this was as a result of a deliberate act or due to secondary rodenticide poisoning. As a result, no further police action will be taken in relation to this report.”

Responding to the statement from Dorset Police, Katie Jo Luxton, RSPB conservation director, said: “We are completely baffled by the decision taken by Dorset Police to end the white-tailed eagle investigation so prematurely. “Brodifacoum – the rodent poison that killed the eagle – is highly toxic and it is clear that it was being used either incompetently or with intent to kill raptors. Either way, this is an illegal act.” “We seek assurance from Dorset Police that their wildlife crime remit is still operational and that other significant ongoing raptor persecution investigations are fully investigated ‘without fear or favour’ as per Police Oath.”

It is rarely possible to confirm at first glance whether any criminal offence has been committed and so we have a police service that is equipped for and tasked with, undertaking enquiries. Without an investigation there will of course be no evidence of a crime. If it appears that those entrusted with carrying out such enquiries have been deterred from doing so by outside influence then the public will loose all confidence in the police. It does not matter whether the enquiry relates to a poisoned raptor, parties in Downing Street, a rape or a murder, it should be undertaken ‘without fear or favour’ and without the appearance of outside influence.

Scott Chilton, the recently appointed Chief Constable of Dorset Police says in his bio that he is “an advocate of evidence-based policing and has a strong desire to ensure policing focuses its efforts on protecting the most vulnerable and targeting those criminals who cause harm and misery to our communities.”

These are fine words but if Scott wants to maintain the confidence of the public he should act swiftly and decisively to remove all suggestion that his force has caved in to external pressure not to investigate ‘without fear or favour’. If he can’t manage that then perhaps he is in the wrong job.