As the Manchester Evening News runs a story suggesting chief constable Michael Todd had planned to take his own life, editor Paul Horrocks is paying tribute to the man he envisaged taking up a key media role in the future.

Just 12 days ago the two men sat side by side at the chief constable’s excellence awards at the city’s Midland Hotel.

The police officer was found dead on a Welsh mountain yesterday.

Paul writes in today’s edition: “We met through work, but quickly struck up a trust and a friendship which meant we often chatted on and off the record. I liked him, and I liked his style.

“Michael Todd was a workaholic. He was never off duty, always wanting to chat about force priorities and determined to increase the number of police officers in GMP.

“He was a career cop but despite the almost constant rumours that he might be selected to return to the Metropolitan Police as a candidate for a future commissioner, he told me many times that he would finish his police career in Manchester.

“I often thought he would be offered a job as a media adviser.

“He was very media-savvy. In the first week of his appointment as chief constable he toured all the newspapers, radio and TV stations in the city talking about his plans to combat crime.

“One of his first decisions was to put more visible policing on the city centre streets. He felt strongly that the media should be properly briefed so the public received an accurate message. Never once did he shun our reporters’ calls and whenever he was asked for assistance he gave it where possible.”