The head of the police watchdog has resigned over a “historical allegation”, the home secretary has said.

Suella Braverman revealed she had accepted Michael Lockwood’s resignation as director general of the Independent Office for Police Conduct after he was asked to either quit or be suspended.

Yesterday, Mr Lockwood said he had resigned for “personal and domestic reasons”.

“I took immediate action upon being made aware that Mr Lockwood was the subject of a police investigation into an historical allegation, and instructed my officials to ask him to resign or face immediate suspension from his role,” Ms Braverman said.

“Home Office staff are working at pace with the IOPC’s Unitary Board to put in place temporary arrangements for the organisation’s leadership.”

Mr Lockwood was the first director general appointed to lead the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), which replaced the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) in 2018.

In a statement yesterday, he said: “It is with great sadness that I have decided to resign as Director General of the IOPC for personal and domestic reasons, and this will be effective from today.

“It has been an enormous privilege to serve as the first Director General of the IOPC and to have led the organisation for the past five years.

“I am proud of the progress we have made and I am grateful to all our staff, the Unitary Board and external stakeholders for all their support.

“The Unitary Board will now work with the Home Office to put in place new leadership arrangements as quickly as possible.”