No action will be taken against Sir Norman Bettison, the former chief constable of West Yorkshire Police, over the alleged theft and handling of a quantity of platinum, the Crown Prosecution Service has confirmed.

Last July, an investigation by Derbyshire Police ruled there was no case to answer over a claim that Sir Norman was involved in the sale of platinum wire to a Sheffield firm in 1987 when he was an inspector with South Yorkshire Police.

The matter was subsequently passed to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to review.

In a statement, the CPS said: “An investigation was undertaken by Derbyshire Police in 2013, at the request of South Yorkshire Police (SYP), into the alleged theft and handling of a quantity of platinum by Sir Norman Bettison in 1987.

“We have completed a fresh review of the evidence and decided that there is insufficient evidence to prosecute.

“An essential legal element of the alleged offences is that the prosecution must be able to prove that the goods in question were in fact stolen.

“There was insufficient evidence to establish this and as such a prosecution for theft or handling stolen goods is not possible. Should any further evidence come to light we will, of course, consider it.”