The Government’s police inspectorate has backed down after protests from social media activists over its choice of name for a new website.
Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) had unveiled plans for a project called MyPolice.org.uk.
But the name was already being used by a project started in 2009, intended to allow crime victims and others to report feedback to police forces.
HMIC said it had chosen to stop using the name to avoid confusion.
“To ensure the public gets the benefits of both services with no chance of confusion, we will change the name of the ‘my police’ pages on our website,” HMIC said in a statement.
“We are currently consulting on the best option, and will announce the results in the next week.”
The HMIC website was intended to be used by members of the public to find out information about how their local force is performing.
HMIC said it had “nothing to gain by overwhelming MyPolice.org”.
The entrepreneurs behind the independent site had accused HMIC of trampling over their work. During the dispute, co-founder Lauren Currie told BBC News that it had caused “a huge problem”.
In a statement, she said they were “grateful” for the change of heart.
“We think the product HMIC launched, which until today shared our name as My Police, is a genuinely good idea.
“We believe…that it is important to enable the public to rate and score their local force but our product is different.”