A disciplinary panel has concluded that the Chief Constable of Northamptonshire Police, Nick Adderley, breached standards of professional behaviour amounting to gross misconduct.
The finding represents a cataclysmic fall from grace for one of the nation's most outspoken and controversial police chiefs. It is now almost inevitable that the 57-year-old, who has been suspended on full pay (~£176,000 pa according to some sources) since October 2023, will be dismissed from the top job.
After a week of wrangling the three man panel - consisting of Legally Qualified Chair Callum Cowx, His Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary Andy Cooke QPM and Independent Panel Member James Maund - concluded that Adderley dishonestly exaggerated his former military service prior to joining the police.
Solicitor Mr Cowx, a former senior officer in the Army Legal Services, has prosecuted at many Courts Martial involving every branch of His Majesty's Armed Forces. He has spent years listening to dishonest servicemen trying to wriggle off the hook. His appointment as Legally Qualified Chair was an understandable source of consternation for Adderley.
At one point during proceedings Adderley's barrister, Matthew Holdcroft, made a desperate application for the panel to recuse itself. This was on the basis that Mr Cowx, as a former military man, had a "closed view" of matters and "members of the public have said you are not conducting proceedings fairly".
Adderley's disciplinary hearing took place in a Northampton conference room, which was a far cry from the windswept, barren moorland of the Falkland Islands or the sunswept, golden beaches of Haiti the wannabe First Sea Lord mentioned in his curriculum vitae.
Having joined Cheshire Constabulary in 1992, Adderley quickly rose through the ranks to Superintendent.
In 2006 he was seconded to the Home Office Police Standards Unit in the rank of acting Chief Inspector, but he had returned to Cheshire by the end of that year.
He transferred to Greater Manchester Police in 2011, initially as Superintendent Ops in its Trafford Division. He was quickly promoted to the rank of Chief Superintendent, taking command of GMP's Tameside and latterly North Manchester Divisions.
In 2012 PCs Nicola Hughes and Fiona Bone, two unarmed neighbourhood officers, were callously lured to their deaths by one-eyed gang member Dale Cregan. Adderley was so shaken by events that he almost quit the job following the cold blooded murder of these officers. I shall return to these tragic circumstances later.
In early 2015 Adderley completed the College of Policing's Strategic Command Course, before his appointment as Assistant Chief Constable at Staffordshire Police.
In late 2018 he was appointed Chief Constable of Northamptonshire Police. Only a few months into the role, trendsetter Adderley took the radical decision to issue every frontline officer with Taser, saying: "Officers deserve all the protection we can give them."
Adderley is the national policing lead for Disclosure and Safeguarding, Police and Fire Collaboration and Police Motorcyling and the Criminal Use of Motorcycles.
There is no disputing Adderley's policing experience, ability or credentials, but on a personal level he was always a bit of a Marmite character. Some viewed him as straightforward, approachable, down to earth - a proper copper's copper. Others considered him arrogant, aloof and self-centred. Never one to hide his light under a bushel, if there was an opinion to be given then Adderley was your man.
This was exemplified during the first covid-19 lockdown when he gave a TV interview threatening the people of Northamptonshire with road blocks and shopping trolley searches if they failed to comply with restrictions. A few days later, having been publicly criticised by then Home Secretary Priti Patel, he made a rambling retraction and falsely claimed the press had taken his comments out of context. They hadn't.
Despite his faults, Adderley was generally viewed as a safe pair of hands who got the job done. That is until now.
It now transpires that Adderley isn't all he's cracked up to be, having made several exaggerated claims about his former military service. Worse still, instead of dropping a few fantasy one-liners over a pint with his mates in the Dog and Duck, he has committed the cardinal sin of Walter Mittyism - publicly posing for photographs whilst wearing medals and uniform he has no entitlement to.
Specifically the South Atlantic Medal with rosette, which was legitimately awarded to armed forces personnel and civilians working in defence during the Falklands War. It turns out Adderley has no such eligibility - a matter he now concedes, having subsequently said the medal, together with the General Service Medal he sometimes wears alongside it, had been awarded to his brother and was worn as a mark of pride and respect.
However, it has also been revealed that his brother Rick, who emigrated to Australia a decade ago, had actually been awarded the South Atlantic Medal without rosette, as he had been a merchant seaman not directly involved in the conflict. In other words, the medal Adderley wears cannot possibly be his brother's and has actually been sourced by other means (aff. link). An MOD medal expert has told the disciplinary hearing that the campaign gongs worn by Adderley are not the real deal.
Eyebrows raised at the medal situation, inquisitive types have naturally delved deeper into the back story of the 57-year-old Mancunian. Reading through the news archives, it seems that Adderley has contrived quite an impressive resume over the years.
In a 2021 radio interview Adderley spoke about his important role at the Home Office, during which he'd had one-to-one meetings with then Home Secretary David Blunkett. Drilling down into the minutiae, it is only recently that people have realised Blunkett's tenure ended a whole year before Adderley's arrival in Whitehall.
The Chief Constable has also contributed to two books about the murders of PCs Nicola Hughes and Fiona Bone - Lured to their Deaths (aff. link) and An Extraordinary Sacrifice: The Story of PC Nicola Hughes 16.10.1988 - 18.09.2012 (aff. link). The second of those books is authored by Bryn Hughes, father of Nicola. Adderley made reference to his time fighting the Argentinians and his grief at seeing fallen comrades during the conflict. Despite being directly quoted, he now denies ownership of the comments.
Adderley had claimed 10 years' Royal Navy service, having attended the prestigious Britannia Royal Naval College and commissioned as a Lieutenant. In reality, none of that is true. He actually served for 2 years as an Able Seaman, between October 1984 and December 1986. He was rejected for officer training and discharged from the service on the grounds of "homesickness". When pressed on these inconsistencies, Adderley told investigators he had included the Royal Naval College on his CV as it demonstrated his "determination and ambition" to apply to such an establishment.
The creative copper had also claimed that during his time in the Royal Navy he "saw colleagues die in the Falklands war" and had served as a negotiator in Haiti. In reality Adderley has never been to either the Falklands or Haiti. Indeed at the time of the Falklands War he was a spotty 15-year-old schoolboy.
In evidence submitted to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), Adderley claimed that during the autumn of 1985, when he was barely out of initial training, he led HMS Invincible crewmates in recovering a Sea King helicopter from the water. However, the real officer that led the recovery party, Lt Paul Jones, doesn't have a clue who Adderley is, let alone remember his involvement in the operation.
The idea that such a fresh-faced skimmer, with no specialist qualifications or experience, would be responsible for such an important task can be instantly dismissed out of hand.
Furthermore, the 57-year-old told investigators that he was responsible for the ship's armoury. This is another ludicrous suggestion, which is instantly dismissable for the same reason.
Adderley addressed delegates at the British Security Industry Association's Manchester meeting in February 2014. Video footage of the event shows him falsely describing his former Royal Navy status, saying: "I'll be totally honest with you. I have been in the police service now for 23 years. Prior to that I was a senior leader in the Royal Navy."
In his 2018 application for the Northamptonshire Police Chief Constable job, Adderley gave himself a promotion and falsely described himself as a Commander in the Royal Navy. Unbelievably this discrepancy was noticed at the time, but then Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, Stephen Mold, decided to appoint him to the top job anyway.
Less than a year later Adderley posed for a photograph wearing a Royal Navy junior officer's peaked cap, having presumably busted himself back down to the rank of Lieutenant. The image, taken on Armistice Day in 2019, shows the Chief Constable standing alongside police colleagues wearing their former military headdress. Again, as he has never been a commissioned Royal Navy officer, this prop must have been sourced from somewhere else (aff. link).
Adderley refused to give evidence during the disciplinary hearing. As in criminal proceedings that is his choice and his silence, when considered alone, could not be taken as an inference of his guilt. However, given the weight of evidence his silence spoke volumes - he simply could not advance any plausible explanation or defence for his imaginary claims.
Over the years he has undoubtedly busted many crooks and dangerous ones at that. That successful police career will now forever be overshadowed by the fact he is a barefaced liar and a shameless Walter Mitty.
It was all so unnecessary too. Had Adderley played with a straight bat from the outset - "I tried the Royal Navy, but found it wasn't for me. I decided to refocus all of my efforts into forging a successful career in the police" - then he wouldn't be in the desperate, career ending predicament he finds himself now.
By propagating his deception, Adderley has disrespected the memory of the Falklands fallen and veterans - people far braver and more dignified than he could ever aspire to. He has despicably used the murders of PCs Nicola Hughes and Fiona Bone as a platform to further polish his own ego.
Adderley couldn't lie straight in bed at night. He is an absolute disgrace and the sooner he is gone the better.
Having concluded that Adderley has a criminal allegation to answer, the IOPC has sent a file of evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service.
Given Adderley's arrogance I consider it entirely likely he'll disagree with the panel's decision and appeal to the Police Appeals Tribunal. Should he wish to pursue that option, he now has seven days to submit written notice of appeal.
No comments:
Post a Comment