A former superintendent would have been dismissed without notice after he was found to have committed gross misconduct by repeatedly lying to senior officers about a relationship with a member of staff.
Nick Lyall resigned from Bedfordshire Police last month following a three-week hearing at Wyboston in September after which a misconduct panel ruled his behaviour had amounted to gross misconduct. The legally qualified chair today (Monday, December 14) said he would have been dismissed without notice had he not already left the force.
During the initial hearing, the panel was told Mr Lyall was asked about an alleged affair with a member of police staff in a meeting with senior colleagues who had concerns it was an abuse of his rank and influence.
He initially denied the relationship, and then went on to repeat the lie to a further two senior officers in the following days.
He subsequently admitted the relationship and claimed he had lied because he panicked when questioned.
While the relationship was not deemed inappropriate by the misconduct panel, they concluded that the lies each breached the standards of behaviour for honesty, integrity and discreditable conduct, which amounted to gross misconduct.
Further to this, he was alleged to have engaged in sexualised text messaging on his work phone. The panel heard he had wiped the phone in a bid to cover up the communications.
This was found to be discreditable conduct, which amounted to gross misconduct. The panel found each breach would have amounted to dismissal for gross misconduct – cumulatively and on their own merit
A further two charges were dismissed during the hearing.
T/Assistant Chief Constable Sharn Basra said: “Integrity is imperative in policing as the public expect our officers to be honest and trustworthy in everything they do.
“We also have a duty of care to protect our officers and staff from those who might seek to abuse their own rank or position of authority, which is why the initial allegations were taken so seriously and an investigation was launched.
“That investigation has shown Mr Lyall’s behaviour fell well short of the standards we expect, particularly from one of our senior leaders, and the panel had little option but to recommend a sanction of immediate dismissal.”
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