Police chief reported for bin Laden costume

LONDON (Reuters) - A senior policeman who dressed as Osama bin Laden at a carnival, days before the seventh anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks has been reported to the police watchdog.

Chief Superintendent Colin Terry, who has trained police in Afghanistan, was photographed wearing a lifelike bin Laden mask, robes and traditional Arab scarf.

He wore the costume at a carnival and parade in the village of Grampound, Cornwall, on Saturday.

In a statement on Thursday, Devon and Cornwall police said it took the incident "very seriously" and had referred Terry to the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

"Whilst we believe his actions were misguided rather than malicious, they were clearly inappropriate," it said.

"We would condemn any such actions by any police officer as unacceptable."

Terry is on secondment to the Foreign Office, but might have faced disciplinary proceedings had he still been with his local force, the statement added.

A Foreign Office spokesman said Terry had been helping to train police in Afghanistan as part of a European Union project.

"He will not be returning to the EU mission," he added. The spokesman would not say if the decision was directly linked to the carnival costume.