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Sergeants given passes by College of Policing.

Promotion hopefuls who scored just below the required mark in an inspectors' exam which contained errors have passed the test.

The College of Policing has made allowances after several errors were highlighted, including a question based on out-of-date legislation.

Concerns were raised after a question regarding intoxicating substances, based on pre-May 2016 legislation, appeared in the 2017 test.

Obscure issues such as skips, school crossing patrols and the Trial of Lunatics Act 1883, also featured.

The organisation initially said that no promotion hopefuls would be penalised over the questions and removed them from the total needed to pass the test.

However it first told sergeants who scored just below the required rate that they had failed.

Several complained that they had been put-off by the inclusion of the incorrect questions in the exam.

Allowances will now be made for them.

A College spokesman said: “A further review […] identified that some candidates had not been compensated for the inclusion of four problematic questions, which may have impacted their overall performance outside of these questions.

“The debrief panel therefore made a decision to re-score the exam. This does not affect any candidate that has been informed they have passed, but a further 39 candidates are being informed that they have passed.

“All candidates and forces will be notified of this decision and the reasons for doing so, and all results and feedback will be reissued.”

Paul Connor, author of the Blackstone's guides who coached hundreds of hopefuls before assessments, said that while the problem shouldn’t have happened, he is happy the error has been corrected.

“I believe this has been the course of action when something like this has happened in the past. The four questions have essentially been marked as 'correct' for everyone.

“The College has done the right thing,” he said.

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