Detective drove to work while high on cocaine

Detective Constable Lewis McVey admitted he had taken cocaine

A detective being tested for cocaine use told anti-corruption officers "it'll come back positive".

A Merseyside Police misconduct panel heard Detective Constable Lewis McVey had driven to work on 31 July while high on the Class A drug.

Chief Constable Rob Carden, who chaired the panel, said he found it "unbelievable" that a police officer would find it acceptable to take illegal drugs.

McVey, who would have been sacked had he not have already resigned from the force, has had his name added to the College of Policing's barred list, prohibiting him from ever working in a policing role.

The misconduct panel heard McVey was pulled in for a "with cause" drug test at 08:35 BST after arriving for work.

He was told anti-corruption officers had reason to believe he had taken cocaine.

While the procedure was being explained to him by another detective, McVey said: "I'll save you the time - it's gonna come back positive."

The hearing at Merseyside Police HQ was told the officer had not sought help for any addiction problems

He agreed to provide a urine sample and when the force established that he had driven to work, he was asked to carry out a drug wipe test.

The panel heard McVey said: "It won't affect my driving."

When asked what he was referring to, he answered "cocaine".

The drug wipe indicated the presence of cocaine, while the urine sample later returned a reading of 1,000 nanogrammes of benzoylecgonine - a metabolite of cocaine produced when it is broken down by the body - per millilitre of urine.

The minimum for a sample to be considered positive for cocaine is 150ng/ml, the panel heard.

It heard McVey had not sought any help from the force regarding any addiction issues.

'Public trust undermined'

He was found guilty of breaching professional standards around fitness for duty, orders and instructions, and discreditable conduct.

In his judgment, the chief constable wrote: "This is precisely the type of conduct that undermines public trust and confidence in the police and brings the police service as a whole into disrepute."

While he said the source of the cocaine was unclear, the "irresistible inference" was that it had been bought from a drug dealer.

"So not only was the former officer breaking the law himself, he was also exposing himself to risk and indeed the force to risk," he added.

Det Supt Cheryl Rhodes, from the force's Professional Standards Department, said after the hearing: "For the officer to resign ahead of this hearing was the right thing to do, and he would have been dismissed if still serving.

"Our officers are here to uphold the law, so his conduct in procuring and using Class A drugs is a serious matter, and it leaves him unfit to serve his community."