Cop ran business while getting sick pay from force
Hopkins’ ban over tweet to rugby star
KATIE Hopkins was banned from Twitter for a message she sent to Welsh rugby player Ashton Hewitt, it has emerged.
The controversial right-wing commentator was booted off the social media platform last week, in a move welcomed by many social media users, following a plethora of comments directed at Manchester United footballer Marcus Rashford.
The England international had been campaigning to ensure that children received free school meals.
Hopkins slammed the campaign, saying: “Dear Marcus Rashford, do you think women should think about how they are going to feed a child before they decide to have it?
“I do not want to pay to feed other people’s kids. You are welcome to. Thank you, Katie
A FORMER police officer who ran a business while off sick from the force breached policing standards, a disciplinary hearing has ruled.
PC Phillip Smallcombe faced an allegation concerning his involvement in a funeral service business while absent from South Wales Police due to ill health.
He also faced eight other allegations including not having registered other business interests, working a second job while off sick from the police on a different occasion, and lying about working for the businesses concerned.
Mr John Bassett, chair of the panel at a misconduct hearing held on Monday said if Mr Smallcombe, who resigned from the force in March 2019, was still a serving officer he would have been dismissed.
Out of the nine allegations, six were found to be gross misconduct, one of the allegations was not proved, one allegation was found as misconduct, and one allegation was withdrawn.
The former officer, who joined the force in 2001, denied the allegations that amounted to gross misconduct and was absent from the hearing.
It was proved that during August 2015 and July 2017, Mr Smallcombe worked for and was involved in the business of Parc Funeral Services in Pontypridd, now Seren Funeral Services,
Hopkins.”
She then went on to appear to mock the Black Lives Matter protests, tweeting: “Today is #whiteoutwednesday. I will shortly be posting a picture of my a***. Thank you.”
In response to her tweets,
while he was a serving police officer.
He had failed to seek authorisation for this business interest and when he did, the application was not authorised.
A police officer is required to declare their business interests, which Mr Smallcombe did not do until he had been involved in the running of the business for a year, and continued working after an application was submitted and not approved.
According to the College of Policing Code of Ethics for England and Wales, people working in policing can have business interests as long as those interests are authorised and there is no conflict with an individual’s police work and responsibilties.
It is not known why Mr Smallcombe’s application to register his business interest was denied.
This was after he left funeral business Park Funeral Directors in Barry, where he was alleged to have taken an active part in the business between 2009 and 2013, while he was on sick leave from the force. However, this allegation was not proved as the panel were not satisfied he was active in the business during specific dates he was on sick leave.
It was, however, proved in an another allegation that Mr Smallcombe, while absent from the force due to ill health, undertook work on behalf of Parc Funeral Services in Pontypridd between 2015 and 2016.
A further allegation found that Mr
Dragons winger Hewitt posted: “Katie Hopkins is f ****** toxic.”
Hopkins replied: “Am I? He better be hung like a baboon... #katiehopkins.”
It has now transpired that this was the post that Twitter banned Hopkins for as it violated their rules against hateful conduct.
“’Hung like a baboon’ is a Blackadder / urban dictionary expression for having Big Balls,” said Hopkins in an attempt to defend her tweet. “For this, they removed me from twitter. It’s even an expression I use about myself in my bio.”
Hewitt has been one of the most vocal British athletes on the Black Lives Matter movement in recent weeks.
The 25-year-old has been using his platform to educate others via a series of impressive television interviews and on social media.
Smallcombe used a South Wales Police employee who had also reported sick to be sick to carry out work for Parc Funeral Services.
Allegations eight and nine found that Mr Smallcombe lied about his involvement in Parc Funeral Services, claiming he had not carried out any work on its behalf and claimed he was a silent partner. Evidence found this to be untrue and that he was active in the running of the busienss. This was proved to be a breach of policing standards and amounts to gross misconduct.
The ninth allegation, Mr Smallcombe claimed he had visited someone to discuss “wicker baskets”, when in fact it was to query about wicker coffins. This allegation of lying was proved and breached the policing standards of honesty and integrity and discreditable conduct, amounting to gross misconduct.
The first allegation related to Mr Smallcombe’s directorship of a business known as Merlin Car Company LTD, when he was a serving police officer, and the hearing found he had failed to seek authorisation for a business interest.
Mr Smallcombe admitted he registered the company with Companies House but he claims it did not trade or conduct any business. However, the hearing found his failure to register this interest failed to comply with policing standards of honesty and integrity, orders and instructions and discreditable conduct. This amounts to misconduct.