Police chief keeps payout after delaying his sacking

A SENIOR counter-terrorism officer sacked for failing to safeguard secret files stolen from the boot of his car will keep his £215,000 pension lump sum after he managed to delay his dismissal so that he could qualify for the payout.

West Midlands Police Asst Chief Constable Marcus Beale launched a judicial review just hours before a disciplinary hearing on March 29, forcing its postponement.

By the time the hearing was rescheduled for yesterday – at which point Chief Constable Dave Thompson took the decision to dismiss him without notice – the 54-year-old officer had reached the 30-years’ service qualification for automatic payment of his pension.

Mr Thompson ratified a ruling by a disciplinary panel in February that Mr Beale, head of the West Midlands counter-terror unit, had behaved with gross misconduct by leaving a briefcase containing classified material inside a locked car. Mr Beale pleaded guilty last year to an offence under the Official Secrets Act and had faced losing the £215,000 if sacked.

But he will now retire with full pension and that lump sum, since yesterday’s hearing took place after April 6 – understood to be the date his pension became active. Ordering that Mr Beale be dismissed, Mr Thompson said: “I agree (with a previous disciplinary panel decision) that the misconduct in this case is serious and is very likely to undermine public confidence in policing.” He said he had decided to dismiss his colleague with a sense of “huge personal regret”, having heard considerable and impressive character evidence.

John Beggs QC, Mr Beale’s legal counsel, said that Mr Beale reported the documents as missing immediately and his failing had been a mistake with no malice or premeditation. “Mr Beale’s response to this ghastly realisation (that documents had been stolen) was swift, professional, selfless, and imbued with the characteristics that runs through him like Brighton rock – honesty and integrity,” he said.