Former Southend Hospital nurse suspended over lie

Nicola Howell was a senior sister at Southend Hospital when she lied in court

A nurse who lied about a former police firearms officer caught speeding has been suspended.

Nicola Howell, who worked in accident and emergency at Southend Hospital, was jailed for six months at Chelmsford Crown Court last year.

She had lied during the trial of former boyfriend Michael Turner, who feared losing his Met Police job if convicted.

A panel of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) suspended her from working as a nurse for one year.

Turner, of Witham in Essex, was jailed for 18 months by Chelmsford Crown Court in November, for perverting the course of justice.

Nicola Fleck, who represented Howell at the tribunal, said her client was "an exceptional nurse with excellent clinical skills" who admitted her offence.

In suspending her, the NMC said although it accepted the conviction was unconnected to her work as a nurse, in acting dishonestly she "had breached one of the fundamental tenets of the profession".