TV Celebrity Motorway Cop keeps his job after public misconduct hearing finds two allegations Not Proven

June 13, 2019

A police officer represented by Richard Littler QC from Exchange Chambers (instructed by Bryan McMahon of Burton Copeland Solicitors) has kept his job after a public misconduct hearing.

PC Angus Nairn, 52, who appeared on TV show Motorway Cops, received a final written warning after two of the three allegations he faced were found Not Proven by the Panel.

The public misconduct hearing was conducted at the West Mercia Police’s headquarters at Hindlip by Mr Harry Ireland, an independent, legally qualified chair and follows a two and a half year investigation by the Professional Standards Department of Warwickshire Police and West Mercia Police.

The Panel reviewed three allegations to assess whether the officer had breached the standards of professional behaviour.

Two serious allegations of dishonesty were found Not Proven by the Panel. It was established during the hearing that PC Angus Nairn had simply made innocent mistakes but his mistakes paled into insignificance when compared to the catalogue of errors committed by the numerous police witnesses called to give evidence.

The third and less serious allegation – that PC Nairn used a computer to carry out a search that was not for an appropriate policing purpose and in breach of Data Protection Policy – was found Proven by the Panel. This breach had been previously described by Professional Standards and the Data Controller within the police as a low-level breach but following the findings of not proven for the more serious dishonesty allegations,  the Appropriate Authority changed position and suggested this data breach not only amounted to Gross Misconduct but justified immediate dismissal.

The Panel disagreed and PC Angus Nairn, who has completed 18 years’ service in the police, kept his job with a Final Written Warning.