Shaun Sawyer, the chief constable of Devon & Cornwall Police, has been placed under investigation for comments he made during an interview with the BBC – but denies any wrongdoing.

The investigation relates to comments about an inquiry into the declaration of general election expenses by Devon and Cornwall’s Police and Crime Commissioner Alison Hernandez.

Mrs Hernandez is currently being investigated following a complaint about alleged false accounting, relating to her role as the Conservative Party election agent in Torbay in May last year.

It was at the General Election that sitting Liberal Democrat MP Mr Sanders lost out to Conservative Kevin Foster, and Mrs Hernandez was the Tories’ election agent. She was elected as PCC in May this year.

In an interview with the BBC about the inquiry into Ms Hernandez, Mr Sawyer said that although “democracy is important” Parliament needed to consider procedures for dealing with complaints about the way elections are run.

He said: “This is taking up police time.

“It is taxpayers’ money.”

Mr Sawyer said in a statement on Tuesday: “I am aware that the OPCC (Office for the Police and Crime Commissioner) has received a complaint from a member of the public concerning comments I made in the course of a BBC interview regarding a police investigation into the Police and Crime Commissioner, Alison Hernandez.

“This complaint has been considered by the IPCC (Independent Police Complaints Commission) and remitted back to the OPCC for resolution.

“I welcome an independent investigation into this complaint and look forward to hearing the outcome in due course.”

Gloucestershire Police has been brought in to carry out the investigation into Mr Sawyer, according to BBC Devon.

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Mr Sanders welcomed the probe. He said: “You can’t make statements like that unless you have some background detail.

“He’s not in a position to know that detail, especially when it’s his boss who is the subject of investigation.”

The Devon & Cornwall force is investigating claims of false election expenses accounting by the Conservative Party at last year’s General Election.

In May this year magistrates approved an application from Devon & Cornwall Police to investigate four South West MPs, and the newly elected Police and Crime Commissioner Ms Hernandez.

Because the investigation included Ms Hernandez, Devon & Cornwall chief constable Shaun Sawyer asked the West Mercia Constabulary to conduct inquiries on his behalf.

The inquiry is now being handled by the IPCC and is expected to be concluded by November.

Ms Hernandez denies any wrongdoing and has said she is ready to help with any inquiries.