Counter-terror officers fired for neglect of duties

Male and female PCS spent ‘extended periods of time’ at night in the office rather than patrolling the airport

TWO counter-terrorism officers have been sacked for skipping their duties while working on the night shift at Manchester Airport.

It has emerged that Jason Coman and Jennifer Gold had been neglecting their roles, which included checking airline passenger lists and stopping suspects.

Instead, the pair were found to be spending “extended periods of time” in their office inside the terminal building.

It is not believed that they are in a relationship.

The pair were exposed after an internal investigation was launched to determine the work that they had been carrying out.

It was found that both parties had provided “inaccurate and misleading” information about their work during four night shifts in July 2016.

The pair appeared before a secret five-day disciplinary hearing – which are normally open to the public.

The chairman of the judging panel ruled the use of counter-terrorism tactics was so sensitive that the hearing should be held in private.

However, the result of the hearing has been made public. A Greater Manchester Police spokesman said: “Constable Jason Coman and Constable Jennifer Gold appeared before a panel on Thursday 18 December 2017 to answer allegations of failing to leave their office for extended periods of time and giving information which was inaccurate and misleading while on ports duty at Manchester Airport.

“An investigation was launched by GMP’S professional standards branch and, at the conclusion of this, the case was brought to a gross misconduct hearing. The panel was independently chaired and the chair ruled that the hearing would be held in private to prevent counter-terrorism tactics being revealed.”

Manchester Airport is the largest in the UK outside of London and sees more than 22million passengers pass through its doors every year.

Both Mr Coman and Ms Gold, who were former detectives in the North West Counter Terrorism Unit, have been dismissed for gross misconduct.

Their actions were also described by a GMP spokesman as “totally unacceptable”.

They added: “At the conclusion of the hearing, the panel found the officers had breached the standards of professional behaviour and that their actions amounted to gross misconduct.

“Both were dismissed from the force without notice. GMP considered the actions of the officers to be totally unacceptable, which is why the force sought the highest sanction from the panel.”