Ex-Lincoln Crown Court judge loses legal bid to challenge dismissal

Andrew Easteal, a former Lincoln Crown Court judge, was removed for misconduct following an investigation

A former judge who was removed from office for deleting WhatsApp messages of interest to police has had his bid to appeal his dismissal rejected.

Andrew Easteal, a former Lincoln Crown Court judge, was removed for misconduct following an investigation by the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office.

He was found to have deliberately deleted messages between him and a man later convicted of drug offences.

Mr Easteal denied he intended to frustrate any criminal investigation.

He previously told The Times he had never purchased or taken any illegal recreational or performance-enhancing drugs.

At the High Court in London on Wednesday, Mr Easteal brought a bid to challenge the decision to remove him from office.

His barrister Ramby de Mello argued that the data in the deleted messages was "benign" and related to a personal matter, meaning Mr Easteal's right to privacy under Article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights was a factor in the case.

'Repeatedly deleted'

Mr de Mello said the Crown Prosecution Service had decided not to charge Mr Easteal with any offence, adding the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office (JCIO) should have considered a lesser sanction.

"The question of proportionality is a matter, we respectfully submit, that does not clearly feature in either of the findings or in the confirmation decision," he added.

In its ruling, the JCIO found Mr Easteal, who was described as "Judge Andy" on the man's phone, had "deliberately deleted data in the knowledge that it was of interest to police officers carrying out a criminal investigation".

Mark Vinall, for the JCIO, told the court: "If you want to say that having the police crawling over your phone is an unfair interference with your Article 8 rights, you can say 'I'm not giving you my phone, go and get a warrant'.

"He did not do that, instead he repeatedly deleted the contents of his phone."

Dismissing the bid to bring a legal challenge, Mr Justice Swift said there had been issues with the service of the claim which meant it could not proceed.

Even without the procedural problems, the judge said he would have "refused the application".

"I do not consider it is arguable that the decision to remove him from office amounted to a disproportionate interference with his Article 8 rights," the judge added.

Follow BBC Lincolnshire on  Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [e-mail]