Senior Met officer sacked for second time over refusing drugs test
Commander Julian Bennett was initially dismissed by a misconduct panel in October 2023 over the incident, but took his case to the Police Appeals Tribunal (PAT) in July last year and had his sacking overturned.
He was found to have committed gross misconduct by failing to provide a urine sample for a drugs test on July 21 2020, which led to his suspension shortly afterwards.
A panel found he had breached professional standards when he refused to provide the sample after being called in to do so in the presence of an assistant commissioner, instead offering to resign on the spot and asking for a meeting with then-commissioner Dame Cressida Dick.
Following the PAT's decision to revoke the dismissal, the Met considered a legal challenge by way of a Judicial Review but decided that Mr Bennett should face a fresh misconduct hearing last September.
The allegation proven against Mr Bennett was again found at the level of gross misconduct at the latest hearing.
The officer, who served in the force from 1976, had remained suspended throughout the process and will now be added to the College of Policing's barred list.
Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist said: 'I am enormously concerned that almost five years since this incident happened we have only now been able to dismiss Commander Bennett.
'This should have been a simple matter. Commander Bennett has never disputed he refused a lawful order to take a drugs test.
'As a senior officer who had chaired misconduct hearings, Commander Bennett was highly experienced and knew full well what was required of him, yet he made a choice not to co-operate.
'He has been suspended on full pay for an extraordinary length of time. I am sure Londoners will be as outraged as we are at the utter waste of public funds spent paying a senior officer to sit at home suspended and not work.'
Mr Twist said that 'while the Met is not responsible for all the delays in Commander Bennett's matter, we are also working hard to expedite cases and cut bureaucracy', adding: 'I am confident a situation like Commander Bennett's prolonged case would not happen again.'
Mr Bennett wrote the Met's drugs strategy for 2017-21 as a commander for territorial policing.
The document, called Dealing With The Impact Of Drugs On Communities, set up plans to raise 'awareness of the impact of drug misuse'.
He chaired misconduct panels over several years and freedom of information requests showed he presided over 74 misconduct hearings involving 90 officers between June 2010 and February 2012, leading to 56 officers being dismissed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
13 minutes ago
- The Independent
Sixteen arrested after protest outside migrant hotel in Epping
Police have arrested 16 people after a protest outside a migrant hotel last week. Essex Police said a small number of people had used a peaceful demonstration last Thursday as cover to commit violent disorder and criminal damage. The protest, outside the Bell Hotel in Epping, began peacefully but escalated into what officers described as 'scattered incidents of violence' targeting police and property. Eight officers were injured and a number of police vehicles were damaged as missiles were thrown. Six people have been charged, including Kenneth Blissett, 34, of Long Banks, Harlow, Essex, who was charged on Thursday with theft of police equipment and possession of an offensive weapon. He remains on bail and will appear at Colchester Magistrates' Court on September 30. Another man in his 20s was detained at an address in Harlow at about 5.45pm on Wednesday on suspicion of violent disorder. He remains in custody for questioning and police say they have seized evidence from the scene. Officers are also appealing for information about two men they want to speak to in connection with the violence. Martin Peagram, 33, who has links to Stansted, Essex, is described as 6ft, of slim build, with short brown hair and facial stubble. Philip Curson, 52, who has no fixed address, is 5ft 8in, stocky, with short brown hair and full tattoo sleeves on both arms, as well as tattoos on his neck. Essex Police said they are no longer seeking Shaun Thompson, 37, who was arrested on suspicion of violent disorder and remains in custody. Assistant Chief Constable Stuart Hooper said: 'We'd promised that we'd continue our investigations into the unacceptable actions of a small number of people who chose to take advantage of peaceful protest to try to cause harm to people in Epping or to property. 'We've been analysing footage and we have investigators and trained detectives working on this operation. 'We are identifying suspects and there will be more arrests in the coming days. 'Put simply, if you turn up to try to cause trouble, you won't get away with it.' Detectives have also released body-worn video showing one of the arrests. The latest developments come as police are braced for further protests, and the Government and law enforcement have vowed to act swiftly if unrest spreads. The Epping protest was sparked by the charging of asylum-seeker Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, with sexual assault after he allegedly attempted to kiss a 14-year-old girl. He denied the charge at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court and will stand trial in August. The protest has drawn national attention and sparked a political row, with Reform UK leader Nigel Farage calling for Essex Police Chief Constable Ben-Julian Harrington to resign over claims that officers transported left-wing protesters to the scene, claims the chief constable has denied.
The Independent
13 minutes ago
- The Independent
Council recognising their town's link with Gaza is ‘important' says Jewish group
A Jewish group has called a UK council recognising 'friendship links' with an area of Gaza, 'an important act of solidarity' after local councillors voted for an immediate ceasefire. Last week, Hastings Borough Council, in east Sussex, passed a motion to back an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, an end to all arms sales to Israel and to support the town's friendship links with the people of Al-Mawasi – a section of the Gaza strip. The decision comes after multiple attempts over the past 21 months to bring a ceasefire motion prior to the recent local elections, which changed the make-up of the council. The motion was carried by a majority of 14 Green and Hastings Independent Group MPs, with three voting against and 11 abstentions, mostly from Labour councillors. Hastings Jews for Justice have welcomed the decision, they said: 'We stand with the Palestinians in Gaza who are being slaughtered and starved right now and we demand immediate action of our politicians. 'We applaud all the councillors who chose to stand on the right side of history and used their voice and their vote to fight these crimes against humanity. 'And we reject the idea, shared by several Labour councillors during the debate, that standing up for a people facing genocide is an attack on Jewish people in our community or 'divisive'.' Proposing the motion, Green Party councillor Yunis Smith said: 'We must ask ourselves, when the dust settles, will we have done enough? Will we be able to say that we stood up even when it was difficult? 'Or will we, like generations before us, say that we saw the signs and still we did nothing?' In December 2023, Al-Mawasi was designated a safe zone by the IDF and Palestinians were urged repeatedly to relocate to the area. Since then, the area has been repeatedly attacked, one of the most deadly was July 13 2024, where Israeli jets bombed Al-Mawasi, killing 90 people and injuring 300 displaced Palestinians, according to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry. Hastings Friends of Al-Mawasi group has been building a friendship and language exchange with the Palestinian area over the past few years. Mr Smith said: 'From one coastal town to another, we've shown that solidarity, dignity and human connection shine brighter than cruelty, 'Al-Mawasi, like Hastings, is defined not just by its land but by the resilience of its people. They survive, endure and beckon us to witness their struggle and their strength.' Hastings has become the most recent in a line of UK councils to pass a motion calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Hastings Jews for Justice added: 'This is an important act of solidarity with a people who are being made to suffer in the most horrific ways imaginable and we are determined to show that as British Jews it is not in our names.' The Green leader of the council, Councillor Glen Haffenden, has reportedly received more emails on this subject from his residents than on any other subject since becoming a councillor. Hastings campaign group Friends of Al-Mawasi says there has been a 'marked escalation of threatening and abusive behaviour' towards anyone in the town showing sympathy or support for Palestine over the past few weeks. Sussex Police have confirmed that an investigation is ongoing after a woman was allegedly assaulted while wearing a Keffiyah at the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill.
The Independent
13 minutes ago
- The Independent
Baby murdered by his father in hospital was ‘failed in life'
A two-week-old baby who was 'brutally murdered' by his father was 'failed in life', the officer who led the investigation has said. Brendon Staddon suffered catastrophic injuries at the hands of his father, Daniel Gunter, 27, just weeks after he was born, with multiple broken limbs and his skull crushed. Speaking with the PA news agency, Chief Inspector Nadine Partridge, of the major crime investigation team at Avon and Somerset Police, said Brendon had been failed in life and 'the only way not to fail him in death is to get justice for what's happened to him'. She described Brendon's mother, Sophie Staddon, 21, who was cleared of causing or allowing the death of a child, as a 'vulnerable young girl' who was controlled by Gunter. Brendon, who was born prematurely at 33 weeks, was found in his hospital cot at the Yeovil District Hospital in Somerset on March 5 last year. While doctors attempted to resuscitate him, Brendon's parents went outside for a cigarette. 'Brendon Staddon was born at just 33 weeks' gestation at Yeovil District Hospital,' Ms Partridge said. 'He lived only two short weeks when he was brutally murdered by his dad, Daniel Gunter, in the hospital. The injuries he sustained were catastrophic. 'He had a shattered skull, he had a broken neck, multiple broken limbs and extensive bruising to his limbs and torso.' She added: 'The extensive injuries caused are something I've never seen before in my 22 years as a detective. 'The brutality of the murder – and to such a young, vulnerable, tiny baby – is not something, thankfully, that happens all too often.' She described Gunter as 'very quick to anger', and controlling and coercive towards his partner. Multiple people have spoken of how he would become violent when frustrated, throwing things. After the birth of his son, Gunter would 'blatantly ignore' the advice of medical staff, causing Brendon distress by jiggling and poking him. 'Despite multiple times being told this, he ignored it, thinking that he knew best,' Ms Partridge said. 'He would dictate what (Staddon) ate, when she smoked, who she spoke to, where she stayed. 'After Brendon was born, social services offered Sophie a placement in a mother and baby unit and, as such, Daniel would not be welcome there and would lose control over Sophie and Brendon. She refused to take up that support.' The officer said the parents had shown little emotion during the trial, but Staddon was visibly distressed when she alerted nursing staff at the hospital that Brendon was cold. 'She was quite visibly upset at that point, bent over hysterically crying in the cot space next to where Brendon lay,' she said. 'He was swiftly taken into the resuscitation room, and after a few minutes, both of them left the unit to go outside. 'We can see that on arrest, on the bodyworn footage, that Sophie is quite visibly upset, and she's crying about her baby being dead.' Ms Partridge thanked the medical staff at the hospital for their work. 'They did everything they could to save Brendon. 'Unfortunately, his injuries were too severe, and the small comfort I can take is that he wouldn't have suffered for long. 'My thoughts are that Brendon was failed in life, and the only way not to fail him in death is to get justice for what's happened to him.' A child safeguarding and practice review will be held to examine whether there were any missed opportunities to save Brendon and to identify lessons that can be learned.
