Met Police: Cdr Julian Bennett feared he would fail drugs test - tribunal

Cdr Julian Bennett has been suspended on full pay since July 2020

A senior Met officer accused of smoking cannabis daily has said he refused to take a drugs test, fearing it would be positive due to the CBD (cannabidiol) oils he used medicinally.

A gross misconduct hearing has been told Cdr Julian Bennett, who wrote an anti-drug strategy for the force, regularly smoked cannabis before work.

Cdr Bennett, who joined the Met Police in 1976, denies the allegations.

He told the panel he used CBD for the muscular condition Bell's palsy.

The tribunal previously heard that his former lodger Sheila Gomes said she had regularly witnessed him smoking cannabis before going to work, while she lived at his flat between October and December 2019.

She reported him in July 2020, A few days later, Cdr Bennett was asked to take a drugs test and refused.

'Never taken cannabis'

Giving evidence to the panel in central London, Cdr Bennett read from notes he said he had made soon afterwards.

"I am concerned that because of my facial palsy issues, that having taken CBD as treatment for my face, that this might cause the test to be positive.

"I do not wish for that to happen and to cause embarrassment to the Metropolitan Police force."

Instead of taking the test, Cdr Bennett said he offered his resignation.

The tribunal heard that in March 2019 the left side of his face froze up and he tried a number of different treatments including CBD oils, which are legal in the UK.

Cdr Bennett told the tribunal: "I have never taken cannabis or any other illegal drug."

The officer is accused of breaching the force's professional standards. Allegations he took LSD and magic mushrooms were dismissed on Wednesday

The tribunal continues.

Follow BBC London on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [e-mail]