Officer denies paying for sex worker's services

The officer's gross misconduct hearing is expected to return its verdict on Thursday

A police officer has denied paying for the services of a sex worker after he was spotted in his car with a woman who later told police she was a "working girl".

On Wednesday, the serving West Yorkshire Police officer, whose identity was not disclosed by the force, faced a gross misconduct hearing for discreditable conduct.

It was alleged that on 13 February 2023, while off duty, he was seen with a woman in Bolton, Greater Manchester, who police recognised as a sex worker.

Officer X, as he was referred to throughout the hearing, was alleged to have initially told police he had "no idea" who the woman was, before then claiming to have known her from going out in Bolton.

The officer said he had picked her up at about 20:30 GMT after she waved him down from the side of the road and asked him for a lift following a brief catch-up.

After he was stopped by PC Daniel Graham from Greater Manchester Police, Officer X, who the hearing was told had since been placed on restricted duties, told him he knew her as someone who previously worked in a bar in the town distributing leaflets.

In his evidence, PC Graham said he had driven past Officer X and the woman on Knight Street, where there appeared to him "to be an exchange".

When PC Graham later spoke to the woman, who was a known drug-user, he said she told him that Officer X had picked her up from Lever Street - an area known for prostitution, the panel heard - before adding: "I worked, then he dropped me off."

'Flawed and confusing'

The hearing, at West Yorkshire Police's headquarters in Wakefield, was told that Officer X initially denied dropping off the woman when his vehicle was stopped by police.

Then, after being challenged on his account, he said she was "just someone I know", according to PC Graham.

The panel heard that Officer X gave an incorrect name for the woman who, in turn, was unable to recall his correct name.

He said he had been dropping her off on Knight Street after she asked to get out of the car when she spotted PC Graham's marked police vehicle.

The panel heard that Officer X had previously been given a formal warning by West Yorkshire Police in 2006 after his car was spotted in a red light district in Bradford.

He denied he had been engaging in sexual activity on that occasion, claiming he had been making a telephone call after getting lost.

The hearing was told that he had also received a written warning from the force in 2015 after sending a "number of text messages" purporting to be the ex-partner of his current partner and which contained racial connotations.

On that occasion, his account was described as "flawed and confusing" and he was found to have lied to his partner to stop her from going to the police, the panel heard.

Officer X told police he had been dropping off the woman on Knight Street in Bolton (pictured)

Giving evidence in his defence, Officer X said he had been in Bolton to visit a gym which he was thinking of joining.

He denied paying the woman for sexual services or drugs, and the panel was told no evidence of either activity was found.

In police bodycam footage played to the hearing, Officer X could be heard saying he had "no idea" who the woman was, despite claiming to have told PC Graham the woman's name and how he knew her prior to a body-worn camera being activated.

He told the hearing: "I do accept from the footage that I shut down a little."

According to PC Graham's account, no such conversation took place.

There was no mention of the conversation in a statement from Officer X about the incident which was written in July 2023, the hearing was told.

The panel is expected to deliver its verdict on Thursday.

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