Top drugs cop refused to take test to prove he hadn’t taken cannabis

A police officer who wrote the drugs strategy for the Metropolitan Police has been sacked from the force after failing to provide a sample to prove he was not using cannabis.

Julian Bennett was cleared of using the drug at home by a disciplinary panel, after his former flatmate claimed in July 2020 he would do so every morning before leaving for work.

But while her allegation was rejected, Mr Bennett refused to provide a urine sample later that month, saying the CBD he took for his facial palsy meant he could return a positive result for an innocent reason.

Instead, he offered to resign on the spot and asked if he could have a meeting with the then-commissioner of the Met, Dame Cressida Dick.

Panel chairman Akbar Khan said he had likely tried to involve Dame Cressida ‘to secure for himself high-level cover to deflect inevitable criticism and embarrassment that would come his way’.

Mark Ley-Morgan KC, representing the Metropolitan Police, said if such a meeting had gone ahead it would have smacked of ‘organised corruption at the highest level’.

The panel said Mr Bennett, who first joined the Met in 1976, had narrowly avoided bringing further disrepute to the force because the commissioner was not in her office at the time.

However, the disciplinary panel also rejected an allegation that the explanation he gave for refusing to give the sample was one he ‘knew to be untrue.’

Outlining the reasons behind the decision to dismiss Mr Bennett, Mr Khan said he had ‘shown limited insight regarding the proven conduct’.

The chairman said this could cause the public to be ‘concerned his mindset demonstrates an attitude of one rule for senior officers and a different rule for a lower rank officer’.

Mr Bennett previously wrote a document called Dealing With The Impact Of Drugs On Communities, which outlined the Met’s drugs strategy for 2017-21.

He also chaired more than 74 police misconduct hearings between June 2010 and February 2012, during which 56 officers were dismissed – reportedly earning him the nickname ‘the Sacker’.

Those hearings included one in 2014 during which an officer was fired for failing to take a lawfully ordered drugs test, a decision hailed as correct by Mr Khan during the panel.

Mr Bennett’s solicitors confirmed he would be appealing his dismissal.

Assistant Commissioner for the Met Barbara Gray said: ‘Julian Bennett’s actions were deplorable. He was a senior officer and showed complete disregard and disrespect for the standards we must all uphold.

‘The public will justifiably be outraged that any police officer, but particularly one of such a senior rank, refused a lawful order to take a drugs test.

‘Commander Bennett was highly experienced and knew full well what was required of him, yet he made a choice not to cooperate.’

She continued: ‘He could have been in no doubt of the professional standards required as he was responsible for chairing the misconduct hearings of numerous officers between 2010 and 2016.

‘His actions have further damaged not only the public’s trust in us as an organisation, but also the confidence of our own officers and staff in those who lead them.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.