Sir Ken Jones, a decorated UK police officer who was ousted from his senior position at Victoria Police after raising concerns about Nicola Gobbo has described the use of the defence barrister as an informant as unethical, illegal and chaotic.

The former deputy commissioner told the Royal Commission into the Management of Police Informants on Friday that the relationship between police and its prized informant was an ‘‘industrial abuse of the criminal justice processes of Victoria’’.

Sir Ken Jones in 2010 when he was Victoria Police's deputy commissoner. Credit:Angela Wylie

‘‘My observation is that, having got some information about how the operation was run it began as highly irregular [and] unethical and deteriorated over a period of years to illegal and chaotic,’’ he said in evidence to the royal commission.

Sir Ken said he was personally targeted for raising concerns about Ms Gobbo and other ‘‘distasteful’’ issues he discovered within Victoria Police.