‘Troubling case’: Chief constable fined £50,000 by appeal court judges for contempt
Another dark day as a woman has won her legal battle and exposed the ‘troubling’ inner workings of Northants Police force
Northamptonshire’s chief constable has been fined £50,000 today for contempt of court.
Ivan Balhatchet, who took over the role of Northants chief constable in 2023, sat ashen-faced in the court of appeal in central London while Judge Fraser delivered the verdict of the sanctions hearing at 3pm.
Earlier in the day Northants most senior police officer had apologised to Londoner Nadine Buzzard-Quashie, who had brought a civil case against Balhatchet after fighting for a number of years to have all video evidence of her arrest in Crick in September 2021 given to her.
Miss Buzzard Quashie was charged for failing to stop, but her case was dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service shortly afterwards. She claimed she had been physically assaulted during her arrest and pushed into nettles.
Over a number of court appearances Northants Police officers through legal counsel and witness statements, had denied that more video camera evidence was in existence, but last month the service revealed earlier admissions had been untrue. At that hearing Ivan Balhatchet was found guilty of contempt due to misleading statements made on his behalf.
Miss Buzzard-Quashie had fought her legal battle alone until securing the free services of a barrister to help her overturn a ruling of a county court that found against her in 2024.
It came to light in the courtroom today that the Northants force has made referrals against three staff, including a senior officer (who is not Ivan Balhatchet) to police watchdog the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) in connection to the case.
Delivering his sanctions verdict, Judge Fraser was highly critical of what has been happening over the course of the legal action, which included breaches of court orders. He said it was ‘extraordinary’ that an order of the court appeal made last month (relating to deadlines for witness statements) had also been breached.
But he found it was not proportionate to send Ivan Balhatchet to prison for contempt.
He said:
“I do not consider it would be correct in principle in this case to commit the chief constable. Were a private individual to have breached court orders in the way that has occurred in this case I would undoubtedly consider that to justify a term of imprisonment upon contempt of court. That is however not justified in this case.
“The chief constable stands as a defendant in his official capacity and he is vicariously responsible for those in his police force and legal department. The vast majority of what has occurred has been done by those who act on his behalf, not by him in his personal capacity. “On these facts I consider the ultimate sanction of imprisonment for contempt of court to be both unavailable as a matter of principle but also unnecessary.
“I do however consider that in addition to the finding of contempt that has already been made, the extent of the breaches of two orders of the court, firstly the county court and also the court of appeal do require sanction in addition to the mere finding of contempt.”
He continued:
“Therefore in all the circumstances of this troubling case I consider that a fine should be imposed for the chief constable of £50,000. That sum properly reflects the gravity of the situation, while taking into account the funds for it will have to be paid out of the existing budget of the police force.”
Lady Justice Asplin, who together with Lord Justice Coulson sat alongside Lord Justice Fraser, commended Miss Buzzard-Quashie for her ‘tenacity, resilience and dignity’.
Following the verdict Northants police, fire and crime commissioner Danielle Stone has said:
“I have listened to the court proceedings today, which highlighted clear organisational failings.
“I am deeply dismayed and can only apologise to Miss Buzzard-Quashie.
“The Chief Constable has properly taken corporate responsibility - I will hold him to account for putting the failings right.
“I have asked for an independent review of the circumstances that brought us here. The review will be overseen by my deputy, Marianne Kimani and I will ask to see that report by the end of the year.
“Transparency and accountability are fundamental to police legitimacy. We must understand what went so badly wrong in this case.”
The Labour commissioner, who was elected last May, is also under scrutiny. The police, fire and crime panel, which holds her to account, has called an extraordinary meeting on November 27 due to concerns about what is happening within the force and her oversight of it.
Her referral to the IOPC about the case has resulted in her office being told to keep the matter under consideration.
Last week the IOPC told NN Journal:
“We have assessed a voluntary referral from Northamptonshire’s Office for the Police & Crime Commissioner (OPCC).
“No misconduct has been recorded against the Chief Constable, and no complaint has been made at this time. As such, the IOPC has no legal basis to consider the matter. Our understanding of the contempt finding is that it relates to the Chief Constable’s role as corporation sole of the police force, rather than against him as an individual as he has had no personal involvement in the matter.
“We have advised the OPCC keeps the matter under consideration should there be any further court judgements or a complaint is made. We will of course thoroughly assess any subsequent referrals we may receive.
Today the IOPC said:
“We received a voluntary conduct referral from Northamptonshire Police on 19 November 2025 in relation to two staff members and one senior police officer.
“The conduct referral relates to their engagement with the courts over an ongoing legal matter and subsequent statements provided as evidence during the proceedings.
“We have assessed the referral, plus all evidence available to us at this stage, and have decided to independently investigate the matters.”