Detective ‘ ran soccer club from work’

A DETECTIVE in a “toxic” specialist police unit sent hundreds of emails from his work account to run a youth football team when he should have been working, a disciplinary hearing has been told.

Six officers from Hampshire police’s Serious Organised Crime Unit North office in Basingstoke are accused of breaching professional standards and are facing a three- week tribunal.

The Winchester hearing was told that 23 per cent of the emails sent by Detective Sergeant Gregory Willcox from his work account between October 2017 and April 2018 related to “football matters” – adding up to 360 messages in this period.

He also received hundreds of messages in relation to Stockbridge under- 18 football club that he helped to run, the hearing was told.

Jason Beer QC, presenting the case against the officers, said in his opening: “The schedule of private football- related emails sent by Det Sgt Willcox shows he was spending a lot of time at work dealing with Stockbridge football club rather than doing his job as a supervisor.”

Giving evidence to the hearing, Det Sgt Willcox said: “It was a procedure when I first started the youth team. There was a requirement for an email address. As my involvement increased, my emails increased.”

Retired Detective Inspector Tim Ireson, Detective Sergeant Oliver Lage, Det Sgt Willcox, former Pc Craig Bannerman, trainee Detective Constable Andrew Ferguson and Pc James Oldfield are all accused of breaching professional standards.

Mr Ireson and Det Sgt Willcox are accused of failing to fulfil their supervisory roles to stop or report the inappropriate behaviour. The six officers deny gross misconduct.