Exclusive: Second police force begins criminal investigation into Northants chief constable
Staffordshire Police has begun an investigation into allegations of fraud
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By Sarah Ward
The criminal investigation into Northants suspended chief constable has widened to a second force.
Staffordshire Police, where Nick Adderley was assistant chief constable from 2015 to 2018, has begun a criminal investigation into alleged fraud linked to the maintenance of police vehicles. Adderley and another former Staffordshire police officer were served with misconduct papers and officially made aware of the investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) on February 20.
Nick Adderley, who is due to face a misconduct hearing in Northamptonshire in May for breaches of professional standards of honesty and integrity, is also under criminal investigation by the IOPC relating to allegations he misrepresented his military service.
Northants’ top cop was suspended from office in October after the police commissioner Stephen Mold’s office made a referral to the IOPC in July, following his wearing of Falkland War medals which were not his own. Since then, more discrepancies about Adderley’s career history and his naval service have come to light.
Although the IOPC said its practice is not to name officers under investigation, when we asked questions specifically about Nick Adderley being under investigation by Staffordshire Police, we received the following response:
“We can confirm that two serving police officers have been told they are under criminal investigation as part of ongoing inquiries by Staffordshire Police into alleged fraud linked to the maintenance of police vehicles. The investigation is being carried out under the direction of the IOPC.
“The officers have been served with notices telling them they are under criminal investigation and that their conduct is under investigation at the level of gross misconduct. Neither of them currently work for Staffordshire Police and both are suspended from their respective forces.
“The serving of notices does not mean that criminal charges or conduct proceedings will necessarily follow.
“Two Staffordshire Police staff members and two members of the public were arrested in June last year (2023) as part of the same inquiries. All were released under investigation. The police staff members are no longer employed by the force.”
We contacted Staffordshire Police and were told:
“As it’s a directed IOPC investigation, we don’t have primacy and we’re unable to comment.”
The spotlight was shone on Adderley’s previous career before joining Northants, after he wore a Falklands war medal to a national police award event in the summer, despite being only 15 years old at the time of the 1982 conflict.
In a response to national newspaper, The Sun, he claimed the medals belonged to his brother, who had served in the conflict. However the episode cast doubt on his naval career, and as first reported by ourselves, he had claimed in his interview to become Northants chief constable in 2018, that he had made it to the rank of commander and had served for ten years from 1981 to 1992, studying at the Britannia Royal Naval College.
However as reported by the BBC no official records of his achieving that rank have been found, and during the period he was supposed to be climbing the naval career ladder in the 1980s, he was for a time running a pub in the Wirral.
Throughout his policing career, which began in Cheshire in the early 1990s, he has referenced his naval career and Falklands service, and a media release was issued last year by Northants Police media office referencing the service. He has never corrected the record on this.
Last week he was due to face his Northants misconduct hearing, but at the eleventh hour chair lawyer Callum Cowx, decided the one day allotted was not enough time and so it has been moved to the end of May. Adderley, who retired from the force in 2022 and then was rehired by police, fire and crime commissioner, Stephen Mold will continue to be paid his salary in the months leading up to the hearing.
The hearing had been due to be heard in private, however after representations, the media will now be permitted to attend with reporting restrictions attached.
We have attempted to contact Nick Adderley for comment.
More excellent reporting of a very serious matter which reflects no credit at all on the people supposed to be looking after Northants!
Good to know media will be permitted to attend the hearing now