PC lied on job application, misconduct panel rules

A Police Federation representative said Mr Middlebrook "didn’t intentionally set out to deceive anyone"

A former police officer "intentionally lied" to his new force when he failed to declare his advanced driver authorisation was taken away by a former employer, a misconduct panel has ruled.

Former PC Neil Middlebrook joined Thames Valley Police (TVP) last October from the Ministry of Defence Police, having joined the latter in July 2022.

TVP chief constable Jason Hogg found Mr Middlebrook was stripped of the authorisation by Surrey Police, which he worked for between 2003 and July 2022.

A Police Federation representative said Mr Middlebrook, who did not attend a hearing on Monday, claimed he “didn’t intentionally set out to deceive anyone”.

But Mr Hogg said he found that explanation “wholly unconvincing” and that it appeared Mr Middlebrook assumed TVP would not undertake relevant checks when approving his job application.

Mr Hogg told an accelerated misconduct hearing that Mr Middlebrook would have been sacked had he not resigned in May, when he was still training at TVP’s complex in Sulhamstead, Berkshire.