A WILTSHIRE Police staff member had an “intimate” relationship with a person she was meant to be supervising, it has been alleged.

Rachel Beale allegedly used her position as a key worker to make hotel bookings during the Covid pandemic - that ordinary members of the public could not.

It has been claimed she prioritised her relationship with Marc Few above abiding by the regulations between February and September 2020, and treated him more favourably than others which she was responsible for managing.

53-year-old Beale appeared before Bristol Magistrates’ Court on Thursday morning, where she entered no plea to the single charge of wilful misconduct in a public office.

The charge states that Beale, who was an offender manager in the Sexual and Violent Offenders Unit at Wiltshire Police, entered an “intimate, emotional” relationship with Marc Few, who she was supervising at the time.

It is alleged that Beale, of Kencot in Oxfordshire, knew there was an “imbalance of power and conflict of interest”, and also used her keyworker status during Covid to make hotel bookings that non-key workers could not, and knew it was not for a law enforcement purpose.

The charge goes on to state: “She prioritised her relationship with Marc Few above adherence to the Covid-19 regulations that were applicable at that time and was complicit in Marc Few doing the same.

“She treated Marc Few in a manner that was more favourable than other individuals being managed by her both in the time devoted to him and the computer searches conducted to advantage his position.”

Beale, wearing a navy blue coat, appeared before Judge Lynne Matthews on Thursday, where her case was committed to Bristol Crown Court as it was too serious to deal with at Bristol Magistrates Court.

She must appear there on February 21 and has been released on unconditional bail.

The hearing, which was due to last just a few minutes, was adjourned for approximately three hours after an application by defence counsel Martha Smith-Higgins to restrict reporting of Beale’s address.

However, the application was denied by Judge Matthews, following representations from the press.

In her ruling, Judge Matthews said: “Case after case after case emphasise there must be exceptional reasons to divert from the principle of open justice.”