Police chiefs sacked over inappropriate behaviour at retirement bash

Police chiefs were fired without notice after they were inappropriate towards a more junior female officer at a work event.

Gwent Police’s detective chief superintendent Marc Budden, detective chief inspector Paul Staniforth and former chief superintendent Mark Warrender all went to a colleague’s retirement party in Cardiff in June 2019.

Each one of them then spoke to a woman, who was below them in rank, so inappropriately it amounted to misconduct.

Warrender also touched the woman without her consent, it was proved at the hearing.

Budden and Staniforth were fired at the hearing yesterday, but Warrender could not be sacked because he had retired the Friday before.

The fact none of the three men reported one another’s behaviour was also seen as part of their misconduct.

Budden was also found guilty at the hearing of inappropriate behaviour while on duty, as well as later lying about that conduct.

During this incident – of which the media were not informed of the details – Budden failed to disclose a conflict of interest. He also inappropriately revealed investigation information to a victim.

Before this misconduct hearing, Budden and Warrender were investigated by Avon and Somerset Police for criminal allegations.

The force filed a report for prosecution in 2020, but the Crown Prosecution Service felt there was ‘insufficient evidence’ to bring any criminal charges last March.

Budden was further accused of influencing both the misconduct and criminal investigations – but police and lawyers would not disclose the outcome of this allegation.

All the hearings were held behind closed doors with the press and public excluded from proceedings, and only brief details were released afterwards.

Gwent’s chief constable Amanda Blakeman said: ‘The chair’s decision to hold the hearing in private meant that individuals in this case felt able to participate in the process.’

Several members of the Welsh Parliament criticised this decision, saying the public needed to have confidence in the police following the murder of Sarah Everard by a serving officer.

Chief constable Blakeman said: ‘This outcome sends a clear message that these kinds of behaviours will not be tolerated within Gwent Police.

‘The public expect high standards of integrity from us and where officers abuse their position of power they will be held to account.

‘Over the past three years we’ve reflected on behaviours and changed our culture.

‘This event was a stark reminder to us that the highest standards of behaviour must be upheld by all, on or off duty.

‘Every day the vast majority of our officers behave with professionalism and honesty when serving their local community and behaviour such as this lets us all down.’

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