Detectives caught up in the West Midlands serious crime squad shake-up have all been replaced. Police said today that appointments had been made for the top two regional CID posts, while some were being taken over by temporary replacements until after the inquiry.

The purge of the senior CID command was carried out by Chief Constable Geoffrey Dear afterfiles from two complaints against the squad went missing from court offices.

The serious crime squad was disbanded, two officers suspended and another 51 transferred from their operational duties to desk jobs.

The Police Complaints Authority was called in by Mr Dear to carry out an inquiry into the squad's activities between 1986-88.

The man who has taken over as temporary head of the West Midlands CID, Supt Michael Jenkins, was today starting a week's holiday.

His deputy is Det Supt Graham Homer, who will move from the commercial branch.

Supt John Mason, the branch secretary of the Police Superintendents' Association, said tha this members were confident they would be cleared by the inquiry.

He said: "I assume that people who are exonerated, or where it's felt they did not even form part of the inquiry, will be able to carry on their professional careers and that they will not suffer."

Mr Dave Mytton, branch chairman of the Police Federation - which represents officers up the rank of chief inspector -said they had offered personal, as well as legal, assistance to their affected members.

He said he hoped those cleared would be reinstated, but that would be discussed with the Chief Constable at the end of the inquiry.

Among the detectives moved from their operationalduties were Det Chief Supt Jim Byrne, head of CID, who went to research and development, and his deputy, Det Supt Stan Beechey, who is now attached to the Hillsborough inquiry.

One detective inspector moved from CID operational duties is yet to be named.