Senior Met officer fails in bid to have disciplinary hearing stopped
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Matthew Horne could face the sack over claims he accessed police information to undermine a bullying investigation.
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A senior Metropolitan Police officer could face the sack over claims he accessed police information to undermine a bullying investigation into him after a disciplinary panel rejected his bid to stop proceedings.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Matthew Horne threw a stress ball at a colleague, pushed them against a desk and swore at another officer while working as Deputy Chief Constable of Essex Police.
He was found to have breached force standards on three occasions between 2015 and 2016 but was allowed to keep his job.
He later became Deputy Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police.
The senior officer is alleged to have improperly asked for and accessed police information to help his defence during a misconduct hearing into the bullying claims, which was held in 2018.
It is an important message that complex cases must be carried through to a hearing
He is also said to have failed to “promptly and appropriately” report, challenge or take action against David Clark, who passed him the information while working as a detective chief superintendent of City of London Police.
Mr Horne is accused of breaching force standards for integrity, discreditable conduct, challenging or reporting improper conduct and confidentiality.
The Crown Prosecution Service did not prosecute him over the claims.
Mr Clark was placed on the police barred list after a disciplinary panel found he passed on the information.
A disciplinary panel threw out Mr Horne’s application to stay proceedings on Wednesday morning, the third day of a misconduct hearing into the allegations.
His lawyer Ben Myers KC argued that holding a hearing was unfair because his client had initially been treated as a witness in the case.
He said: “Until June 2018 there is no suggestion that there was a basis for an investigation into Mr Horne.”
The barrister also said “failings” in the disclosure of evidence to the defence team made the hearing unfair.
Chair of the panel Rachel Crasnow KC said: “Overall, we do not find the delay amounts to such unfairness in itself that we would take the exceptional step of delaying or halting these proceedings.
“It is an important message that complex cases must be carried through to a hearing.”
She also said the officer would have become a suspect “in any event”.
The chair added: “We cannot find unfairness per se meaning the current proceedings should exceptionally be halted. We cannot say that the disclosure process back at the time caused serious prejudice.”
The hearing, which is being held at Thames Valley Police headquarters in Oxford, continues.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.