A regional daily has been refused the right to name a police officer charged with being involved in a “violent altercation”.

The Derby Telegraph has been told the identity of the officer will be kept secret at a misconduct hearing next month.

Members of the public will also be barred from the hearing, while journalists will have to request the right to attend – on condition they agree to withhold the accused’s name from publication.

Nigel Slater, who works as a local democracy reporter for the Telegraph, has challenged the decision by the hearing’s legally qualified chair David Thyme.

The controversy comes after Nigel, pictured, was last month refused the right to identify details about a police officer in a separate case who was disciplined for making discriminatory and offensive remarks to a colleague.

A statement on the force’s website gives details about the upcoming misconduct hearing of a “serving special constable” taking place between 25 and 27 July.

It is alleged the Special Constable in question has breached policing standards of professional behaviour “in that whilst off-duty, the officer was involved in a violent altercation in licensed premises”.

Details about the case state: “Having received representations from the parties concerned, the chair has determined that the officer’s identity will be anonymised.

“Dependent upon any matters raised before or during the hearing, it may be necessary for parts of the hearing to be convened wholly in private. The identity of certain individuals in the case may also require anonymisation to protect their identity.”

Derbyshire Constabulary has declined to intervene on the grounds that the decision was made independently by Mr Thyme.

Mr Thyme ruled that despite the misconduct hearing being “public in nature”, only members of the media can request to observe proceedings.

Members of the media can only attend the hearing on the condition that the identity of the Special Constable is not revealed. By attending, reporters “will agree to refer to the officer only by the [name] of Officer A”.

After being quizzed about the grounds for the restrictions by the Telegraph, a spokesperson for the force said: “The decision regarding public being barred from the hearing and the identity of the officer also not being made public was made by the legally qualified chair – who is independent of the force.

“Derbyshire Constabulary is not involved in the decision-making process and it is up to the LQC to make their decision based on representations from those involved.”

The force said it would contact the legally qualified chair to help seek answers to the Telegraph’s questions.