Northamptonshire chief constable found guilty of gross misconduct

The chief constable of Northamptonshire Police has been found guilty of gross misconduct.

Nick Adderley faced allegations he had lied about reaching the rank of lieutenant in the military and that he was a military negotiator in Haiti in the 1980s.

A three-person panel upheld all the allegations against him following a five-day gross misconduct hearing.

He has been suspended on full pay since last October and will learn later whether he will be dismissed from his role.

The allegations came to light when doubt was cast over the Falklands War medal that Mr Adderley had worn on his uniform since 2009, despite only being 15 at the time of the conflict.

He denied gross misconduct and that he acted “without honesty and integrity”.

On Thursday the gross misconduct hearing was told that “lies are flowing” from the mouth of Northamptonshire’s top police officer.

In the closing statement on the penultimate day of the hearing, John Beggs KC set out his case against Mr Adderley.

Mr Beggs, representing the Northamptonshire Police Fire and Crime Commissioner (PFCC), said the chief constable had lied about reaching the rank of lieutenant in the military and that he was a military negotiator in Haiti in the 1980s.

Mr Beggs told the panel the South Atlantic Medal, which Mr Adderley claimed was gifted from his older brother, was “bogus” and was not applied for until October 2023.

Mr Beggs said: “Whichever way you analyse it, lies are flowing from his mouth.

“On your own account Mr Adderley, while a Supt at Cheshire Police, started wearing a South Atlantic medal. Why would he do that?”

Mr Adderley’s lawyer Matthew Holdcroft told the panel: “Suggesting that this is a clever contrived lie that’s been spanning for decades is demonstrably untrue because no careful liar would be setting themselves up to fail so spectacularly.”

As gross misconduct has been proven, there are three possible sanctions set out for Mr Adderley.

These could include a final written warning, a reduction in rank or a dismissal without notice, with the additional consequence of being included on the barred list.

Mr Adderley did not attend the hearing.