A POLICE chief has received an honour for his work in transforming how North Yorkshire Police responds to mental health problems - and says the ceremony at Buckingham Palace was the proudest moment of his life.

Inspector Bill Scott was speaking after being presented with the Queen’s Police Medal by Prince William.

He said: “Receiving the Queen’s Police Medal was the proudest moment of my life, yet also the most humbling.

“Meeting so many astonishing folks at Buckingham Palace who’ve done so much for their communities was awe-inspiring. There is still so much kindness in the world.”

Insp Scott, 49, who is the force’s lead for mental health and suicide prevention, said it was also a particularly emotional moment because his father had once served at the palace when he was in the Grenadier Guards, prior to becoming a policeman.

He said the Duke of Cambridge had joked to him that it was ‘always nice to meet another William,’ but they had also spoken about the Duke’s involvement in Heads Together, the mental health initiative which is campaigning to tackle stigma and change the conversation on mental health and also fundraises for innovative new mental health services.

Insp Scott, who joined North Yorkshire Police in 1994 after four years as a Special Constable, has been instrumental in the establishment of health-based places of safety and placing mental health workers at the heart of policing – both on the streets and in the Force Control Room.

He successfully bid for £1m funding from the Police Knowledge Fund to carry out an academic research programme which has led to the roll-out of bespoke mental health training for all front-line staff.

He has set up partnerships with charities and mental health organisations to provide early intervention for people who frequently call the emergency services due to their mental ill health, and is part of the project to make York and North Yorkshire a Suicide Safe and Mental Health Friendly county.

He is also currently developing a project to address mental health problems among prisoners to prevent re-offending.

In 2015, the then Minister of State for Care and Support, Norman Lamb, thanked him for his personal contribution to the health crisis care agenda and for his instrumental work in relation to the opening of places of safety across North Yorkshire.

When the awarding of the QPM was announced in the New Year Honours, Insp Scott said the award was recognition of a team effort.

He also said that as the son and grandson of police officers, he only wished his parents were still there to share the news, as he know they’d have been ‘proud of their little lad!’

Minister for Policing and the Fire Service, Nick Hurd, said he had shown ‘tremendous commitment and innovation’ and was a worthy recipient.