EXCLUSIVE: Senior South Yorkshire Police officer cleared over HIV test comments

A senior police officer has been cleared of any wrongdoing over comments she made about colleagues undergoing HIV tests.

The controversy centered on comments made by Zuleika Payne, chair of the South Yorkshire branch of the Police Federation, during an interview with Toby Foster on BBC Radio Sheffield in July.

She was speaking about South Yorkshire Police's decision to introduce controversial spit guards from next year, in which a transparent mesh fabric hood is placed on a suspect arrested to prevent them from spitting at officers.

Officer Payne told how some colleagues had to undergo HIV tests after being spat at by suspects who were in the process of being arrested.

But the comments sparked outrage with listener and sexual health worker Boyd Livingstone-Navin, who said it is impossible to contract HIV through spitting and claimed the officer only served to 'perpetuate stigma' around the infection.

He claimed the officer - a former 'equality lead' for the area - had committed a hate crime and made a formal complaint to South Yorkshire Police.

The force's professional standards department probed the allegation but has decided to take no further action.