DUDLEY'S police chief had no knowledge of Dudley North candidate Afzal Amin's "alleged plans" and the pair did not discuss the possibility of a second EDL march, it has emerged.

Mr Amin claims he had told Chief Superintendent Chris Johnson, who is responsible for policing across the Dudley borough about his discussions with Tommy Robinson "from the start".

But in a statement, Chief Supt Johnson said: "At no point have we ever discussed an EDL demonstration on the dates in question and I have no knowledge of his alleged plans."

He said he met with Mr Amin in late 2014, in his office at Brierley Hill police station, adding: "This was at his request and to discuss his concerns that personal information held by a former employer had not been handled in accordance with data protection legislation."

The pair met again on February 10 to discuss what Mr Amin described as a "personal issue".

Chief Supt Johnson said: "During that meeting I advised him of our course of action in relation to the data protection matter and as a prospective Parliamentary candidate we discussed general policing.

"As part of those discussions we spoke about the successful security operation for the EDL demonstration held in the town just three days earlier. This was quite ordinary and came during a far reaching post-event public consultation programme about the policing of the protest held in the town on February 7."

He continued: "Mr Amin told me that he was prepared to facilitate a meeting between the leaders of the EDL and Dudley mosque so that both could understand each other’s concerns.

"This was not a unique suggestion and a meeting between those groups - organised by a local councillor - had been abandoned on the day of the February Dudley EDL protest.

"Whilst largely supportive of such a meeting, I asked for reassurances about the format and asked for specific details around who would mediate between the groups, where this would take place and so on.

"No further details were provided and I did not request that this meeting take place.

"To the best of my knowledge the meeting between the EDL and mosque leaders did not take place."