Misconduct panel's 'shock' over ex-chief's lies

Former chief constable Nick Adderley attended the gross misconduct hearing in Northampton

The extent of a former police chief's deception about his naval career has been published in a 43 page report.

Among the false information give by Nick Adderley, a gross misconduct panel said his comments about the murders of two colleagues was "most shocking".

Lies on his application were also not picked up when got the top job in Northamptonshire .

Mr Adderley has apologised to his former colleagues.

Seven CV deceits

Mr Adderley provided false information when filling in two vetting questionnaires in 2016 and 2023.

There were discrepancies over his dates of service between the two which he put down to his "lackadaisical" attitude.

The report also listed seven deceits on his CV and application form for the Chief Constable post.

These included falsely claiming to have served for ten years in the navy when in fact he served two and attending Britannia Royal Naval College, which he did not.

The gross misconduct panel said "substantial" reputational harm had been caused to the police service because of his behaviour and public concerns over vetting processes.

The BBC sent a series of questions to the Cabinet Office, which has oversight for the highest level of vetting checks and which gave Mr Adderley a top secret security clearance.

It said it did not comment on security applications.

A parliamentary report last year said the department had "failed to get a grip of this vital government service".

PCs Fiona Bone and Nicola Hughes were murdered while on duty in 2012

The panel said that out of all the evidence produced it found Mr Adderley’s conduct in relation to two books the most shocking.

These were written about the murders of PC's Fiona Bone and Nicola Hughes in Tameside in 2012.

Mr Adderley, who was the officers divisional commander at the time, was described in the books as having "seen colleagues die in the Falklands conflict" and holding a "senior position in the armed forces".

"He attempted to turn the spotlight onto himself and his naval fantasy, rather than on his murdered colleagues" the misconduct panel's report said.

It added he created a "false legend" around himself " for the purpose of enhancing his public image".

False medal

His litany of deceit went as far as wearing a false medal which suggested he had seen active service in the Falklands War, and wearing his brother's medal implying a tour of Northern Ireland.

The former police chief was 15 when the South Atlantic conflict took place and he never achieved any rank above able seaman.

His service record revealed he had been discharged from the Royal Navy in 1986 after being deemed "temperamentally unsuitable", had been rejected for officer training and failed a course to operate the Sea Cat missile.

'Pure fantasy'

A further claim on his application form for chief constable that he had acted as a hostage negotiator during an uprising in Haiti in 1986 was also found to have been false.

Claims of active service were "pure fantasy" the panel's report concluded.

It also detailed his unsuccessful attempts during the hearing to have the panel removed for legal reasons and strike out the testimony of a key witness.

Nick Adderley was dismissed from the police service after the three person panel delivered its verdict on June 21st.

He has also been placed on the police barred list.

Northamptonshire Police is now checking the qualifications and stated military experience of its most senior officers.

The Office of the Police and Fire Commissioner is also reviewing his appointment and has promised to make its findings public.

The BBC has attempted to contact Mr Adderley on multiple occasions but has so far not received a response.

A statement from him was read out on the final day of the gross misconduct hearing.

He apologised for "the hurt that I have caused to veterans of the armed forces… as I come from a very proud family of veterans”.

Mr Adderley said he wanted to "lead by example and to uphold the highest standards of professionalism" in his role.

"I have failed you in that regard, something that I deeply regret, a regret that I will carry with me for the rest of my life" he added.