Three Met police officers have been found guilty of gross misconduct for accessing police files relating to the disappearance and murder of Sarah Everard, with ‘no proper policing purpose’, a tribunal has found.
A gross misconduct panel found that PC Myles McHugh accessed information on the case without an official reason for doing so and as a result has been dismissed from the force.
He was found guilty of the misconduct alongside former Detective Constable Hannah Rebbeck and Sergeant Mark Harper.
Had Ms Rebbeck not has already resigned, she would have also been dismissed. Sergeant Harper was handed a written warning.
Detective Constable Tyrone Ward, former Inspector Akinwale Ajose-Adeogun and former Detective Sergent Robert Butters also faced the same misconduct hearing, however the panel decided that they did have a legitimate reason for accessing the information and as such did not breach policing standards.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stuart Cundy said: ‘Today as always, our thoughts remain with Sarah Everard’s family and friends. We have apologised to them for the added distress this case has caused and I recognise the wider questions and concerns this raises.
‘Our officers and staff are regularly reminded that police systems and specific files must only be accessed where there is a legitimate policing purpose to do so.
‘This includes reminder screens and warning pages when logging on to our software systems, as well as mandatory training on information management which must be completed by everyone within the organisation.
‘It is clear the panel has carefully considered the circumstances of each individual case before coming to their conclusion that three officers had no acceptable reason for looking at this information.’