IT has been revealed this week that Thames Valley Police have failed to respond to two different Freedom of Information requests.

The first, raised by the NSPCC, asked for information relating to "Sarah's Law" concerning the right of residents to formally ask police if someone with access to a child has a record of child sex offences. Thames Valley Police failed to reply.

The second relates to an FOI raised by the Press Association asking every police force across the country two questions: how many officers and PCSOs have been convicted of a criminal offence between 2012 and June 2015, and how many officers with a criminal conviction are still serving? Again Thames Valley Police did not reply, citing cost.

If a police force, paid for out of taxpayers' money, cannot answer legitimate questions like this it raises another question: Who is our police force accountable to?