Air Chief Marshal
Air chief marshal (Air Chf Mshl or ACM) is a high-ranking air officer originating from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. An air chief marshal is equivalent to an Admir ...
Sir Clive Robert Loader, (born 24 September 1953) is a British politician and retired senior
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
officer. He was the
Leicestershire Police and Crime Commissioner
The Leicestershire Police and Crime Commissioner is the police and crime commissioner, an elected official tasked with setting out the way crime is tackled by Leicestershire Police in the English counties of Leicestershire and Rutland. The post ...
from 2012 until 2016. He served in the RAF from 1972 to 2009 and was the first
Commander-in-Chief Air Command.
Early life
Loader was born on 24 September 1953. From 1965 to 1971, he was educated at
The Judd School
The Judd School (often known simply as Judd) is a voluntary aided grammar school in Tonbridge, Kent, England. It was established in 1888 at Stafford House on East Street in Tonbridge, where it remained for eight years before moving to its present ...
, a
grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...
in
Tonbridge
Tonbridge ( ) is a market town in Kent, England, on the River Medway, north of Royal Tunbridge Wells, south west of Maidstone and south east of London. In the administrative borough of Tonbridge and Malling, it had an estimated populat ...
, Kent. He then went on to study at the
University of Southampton
, mottoeng = The Heights Yield to Endeavour
, type = Public research university
, established = 1862 – Hartley Institution1902 – Hartley University College1913 – Southampton University Coll ...
.
Military career
Loader joined the
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
(RAF) in 1973.
He was posted as a junior officer to
No 1 (F) Squadron at
RAF Wittering
Royal Air Force Wittering or more simply RAF Wittering is a Royal Air Force station within the unitary authority area of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire and the unitary authority area of North Northamptonshire. Although Stamford in Lincolnshire i ...
and then
IV (Army Cooperation) Squadron at
RAF Gütersloh
Royal Air Force Gütersloh, more commonly known as RAF Gütersloh, was a Royal Air Force Germany military airfield, the nearest Royal Air Force airfield to the East/West German border, in the vicinity of the town of Gütersloh. It was const ...
, Germany, flying
Harriers.
[ He was promoted to ]squadron leader
Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr in the RAF ; SQNLDR in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly sometimes S/L in all services) is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is als ...
in 1984 and became a flight commander in Germany.[ In 1989, he was promoted to ]wing commander
Wing commander (Wg Cdr in the RAF, the IAF, and the PAF, WGCDR in the RNZAF and RAAF, formerly sometimes W/C in all services) is a senior commissioned rank in the British Royal Air Force and air forces of many countries which have historical ...
and went briefly to RAF Rheindahlen before being made Personal Staff Officer to the Air Officer Commander-in-Chief RAF Strike Command
The Royal Air Force's Strike Command was the military formation which controlled the majority of the United Kingdom's bomber and fighter aircraft from 1968 until 2007 when it merged with Personnel and Training Command to form the single Air C ...
.[
He was given command of No. 3 (F) Squadron, at ]RAF Laarbruch
Royal Air Force , more commonly known as RAF ICAO EDUL (from 1 January 1995 ETUL) was a Royal Air Force station, a military airfield, located in Germany on its border with the Netherlands. The Station's motto was ().
The site now operates ...
in 1993[School Governors]
Bedford School in which role he took part in operations over Northern Iraq and Bosnia.[ In 1995, he was promoted to ]group captain
Group captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force, where it originated, as well as the air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. It is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank i ...
and attended the Higher Command and Staff College and then became station commander at RAF Laarbruch in 1996.[ Loader was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 1996 New Year Honours.
Loader was promoted to air commodore in 1999 and became Air Commodore for the Harriers in 2000.][ Promoted again, this time to air vice marshal, he was appointed as ]Assistant Chief of Defence Staff The Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff (ACDS) is a senior British military officer. There are a number of ACDS appointments and they are held by officers of two-star rank (rear admiral, air vice-marshal, or major general). They work in the Minis ...
(Operations) in 2002 and Deputy Commander-in-Chief RAF Strike Command
The Royal Air Force's Strike Command was the military formation which controlled the majority of the United Kingdom's bomber and fighter aircraft from 1968 until 2007 when it merged with Personnel and Training Command to form the single Air C ...
, in the rank of air marshal, in 2004.[ Loader was appointed a ]Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...
in the 2006 New Year Honours. Promoted to air chief marshal
Air chief marshal (Air Chf Mshl or ACM) is a high-ranking air officer originating from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. An air chief marshal is equivalent to an Admir ...
in 2007, he became the first Commander-in-Chief of Air Command on 1 April of that same year.[ He retired from the RAF in 2009.
]
Leicestershire Police and Crime Commissioner
In April 2012, while serving as a parish councillor in Wing, Rutland
Wing is a village and civil parish in the East Midlands county of Rutland, England. The population was 315 at the 2001 census and 314 at that of 2011. It features a fine church and a labyrinth made of turf. Rutland Water reservoir is nearby.
H ...
, Loader announced he was seeking the Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
nomination as the Leicestershire Police and Crime Commissioner. He stated that Leicestershire Constabulary
Leicestershire Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing Leicestershire and Rutland in England. Its headquarters are at Enderby, Leicestershire.
History
Leicestershire Police was formed in 1839. In 1951 it amalgamated ...
should operate to those same high standards of effectiveness, efficiency and professionalism that he embraced during his RAF career.
Loader was selected as the Conservative candidate on 26 May 2012. He was opposed by Labour's Sarah Russell, Leicester deputy mayor and chair of the Safer Leicester Partnership which coordinates the police with other services, and Suleman Nagdi, a community worker and businessman standing as an independent.
He was elected to the role with 47% of the first choice vote in a turnout of only 16.36%, winning after second choice votes were taken into account. 2.65% of the total votes cast were spoiled. The turnout was one of the lowest ever seen in Leicestershire and Rutland leading University of Leicester
, mottoeng = So that they may have life
, established =
, type = public research university
, endowment = £20.0 million
, budget = £326 million
, chancellor = David Willetts
, vice_chancellor = Nishan Canagarajah
, head_lab ...
criminologist Dr James Treadwell to ask if the £75m national cost of the elections was money well spent.
In office
Loader was sworn in on 21 November 2012. He said the main change was that the public now had a person they could approach if they had problems with particular aspects of policing priorities. In an interview with East Midlands BBC in June 2013, following Keith Vaz
Nigel Keith Anthony Standish Vaz (born 26 November 1956) is a British Labour Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Leicester East for 32 years, from 1987 to 2019. He was the British Parliament's longest-serving Br ...
's questions about the role of police commissioners in general and criticisms of their effectiveness in several neighbouring counties, particularly Lincolnshire, Loader acknowledged MPs' concerns and was shown visiting inner city Leicester in a "charm offensive" intended to improve confidence in the police.
Loader took Blaby District Council to judicial review after it granted planning permission for 4,250 new homes at Lubbesthorpe
Lubbesthorpe is a hamlet and parish in the district of Blaby within Enderby on the outskirts of Leicester, on the west side of the M1 motorway and the River Soar. . Loader had wanted the £2m allocated for police vehicles, communication equipment and buildings to be available "in the early stages" adding that delay would have an unacceptable impact on services and the situation was untenable. The judge found in favour of the council and the commissioner's actions were criticised as a waste of time and public money.
In July 2015 Loader announced he would not be seeking re-election and that he had always regarded his work, though enjoyable "as something akin to a 'last tour of duty.'"
In August, he said he was unaware, but should have been informed of, a three months experimental scheme by Leicestershire police to save money by only investigating burglaries at even numbered properties. The force has had its budget cut by 17% with more expected. Jonathan Ashworth
Jonathan Michael Graham Ashworth (born 14 October 1978) is a British politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions since 2021. A member of the Labour and Co-operative parties, he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) ...
, one of a number of critics, said the scheme was "ridiculous and haphazard" and he would write to the Home Secretary.
In December he thanked G4S for a feasibility report on handling emergency calls to the Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Northamptonshire police which they believed could enable more money to be spent on front line policing but said the police "preferred to be masters of their own destiny."
Personal life
In 1976 he married Alison Leith.[ The couple live in ]Wing, Rutland
Wing is a village and civil parish in the East Midlands county of Rutland, England. The population was 315 at the 2001 census and 314 at that of 2011. It features a fine church and a labyrinth made of turf. Rutland Water reservoir is nearby.
H ...
. Together, they have three sons; Matt (born 1980), Tom (born 1982) and Edward (born 1988).[ They were all educated at Bedford School, where Loader is a school governor.][ He is a keen military historian.][
]
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Loader, Clive
Royal Air Force air marshals
Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath
Officers of the Order of the British Empire
Fellows of the Royal Aeronautical Society
Living people
People educated at The Judd School
1953 births
Alumni of the University of Southampton
English aviators
People from Tonbridge
School governors
Conservative Party police and crime commissioners
Police and crime commissioners in England
People from Wing, Rutland