One of Britain's most senior Policemen is set to help Bahrain overhaul the way it operates its Security Forces, according to the UK's Daily Telegraph newspaper.

Former Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner John Yates will join top US and British advisers who are set to lead training programs, the paper said.

He plans to draw on his experience in the Met and from working on community policing programs with Jamaican Police.

“Bahrain's police have some big challenges ahead, not dissimilar to those the UK itself faced only a couple of decades ago, but I have been impressed that the King is doing the right thing by pressing on with big reforms,” said Yates.

“I look forward to speaking to Bahrain's Chief Police Officers, going out with them on the streets to see the challenges they face, seeing what structures they have in place and helping them to deal better with public order, arrest and detention issues.”

Yates resigned in July amid the controversy surrounding the role of Police Officers in the phone hacking scandal involving Rupert Murdoch's media empire. But he was later cleared of any misconduct by watchdog the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

The Interior Ministry in Bahrain earlier announced it was in the final stages of signing a contract with international security and police expert John Timoney to lead the training programs.

He was shortlisted from a number of “Supercops” with extensive experience and proven expertise, said spokesman Brigadier Tariq Hassan Al Hassan.

Source: TradeArabia News; Daily Telegraph