Met Police commander called pregnant colleague ‘f****** nutter’, misconduct hearing told

A senior Metropolitan Police commander described a pregnant female colleague as a “f****** nutter” and allegedly approved over £5,500 of his own invalid expenses claims, a disciplinary panel heard.

Ch Supt Paul Martin, west area borough commander, is said to have “bellowed from his office” to demand junior officers make his tea and porridge and wash up the bowl.

The high-ranking office also allegedly told them they owed him “eternal loyalty or I will sink you” and claiming he “owned their souls”, a conduct hearing was told.

Ch Supt Martin was appointed chief of the West Area Borough Command Unit in June 2018, which covers Ealing, Hounslow and Hillingdon.

He is said to have made “repeated references to hormones and pregnancy”, the force’s disciplinary hearing, which opened earlier today heard.

The panel, comprised of chairman Akbar Khan, assessor commander Melanie Dales, and independent panel member Sadhana Patel, were told on a trip to a conference in July 2018, Ch Supt Martin “took Sgt James Di-Luzio’s corporate card with him” and spent £5,584 on invalid expense claims - which he himself later approved, as Sgt Di-Luzio’s line manager.

These included flight upgrades, travel insurance, gifts, refreshments from 7/11 and alcohol.

Approved expenses for the trip amounted to just £105.98.

The panel were told: “No officer could have thought this arrangement was appropriate.”

He is also alleged to have made “derogatory remarks” such as “get a life” and “die” to colleagues, and was accused of failing to declare a conflict of interest in relation to the promotion of an officer he mentored and described as a “baby brother”, the panel were told.

The panel heard text messages exchanged between the officer, Ch Insp Davinder Kandohla, and Ch Supt Martin were “indicative of a friendship between the two”.

One exchange allegedly read: “I need this, mate. I need the supers [sic] badly”, to which Ch Supt Martin replied: “I know.”

He is alleged to have subsequently covertly recorded a conversation with another senior officer in relation to a disciplinary process concerning the promotion, in which he repeatedly claimed: “I know I’ve done nothing wrong. I ain’t fussed.”

While he made the comments about the pregnant colleague during a conversation with a male officer, who covertly recorded the call.

Audio recordings of both conversations were played to the tribunal panel.

Four officers, Ch Insp Kandohla, Sgt James Di-Luzio, PC Karina Kandohla, and Ch Supt Martin, face allegations of gross misconduct over a series of accusations.

Speaking at the MPS Directorate of Professional Standards (DPS) hearing this afternoon, barrister Matthew Butt QC, presented the allegations against the officers.

All four, he told the panel, face alleged gross misconduct breaches of the Standards of Professional Behaviour, which, if proven, are “so serious that [their] dismissal will be justified”.

Ch Supt Martin is alleged to have acted as an assessor in a promotion process in which Ch Insp Kandohla was a candidate and failed to declare a conflict of interest.

He also allegedly covertly recorded a conversation with another senior officer in relation to a DPS investigation and instructed a more junior officer to submit a report with an allegation of improper conduct by another chief superintendent knowing that such an allegation was unfounded.

Another allegation heard was that he engaged in conduct concerning misuse of a corporate Barclaycard and engaged in conduct towards junior colleagues during 2017-18, which included “discriminatory conduct”.

John Beggs QC, representing Ch Supt Martin, told the panel that the senior office denied all the allegations, barring those which related to the misuse of the Barclaycard, which he admitted.

While Ch Insp Kandohla is alleged to have been a candidate in a promotion process in which Ch Supt Martin was one of his assessors and failed to declare a conflict of interest.

He also allegedly instructed or pressured a more junior officer to make a false statement and sought to mislead and frustrate an ongoing DPS investigation.

The hearing also heard he instructed a more junior officer to submit a report with an allegation of improper conduct by another chief superintendent knowing that such an allegation was unfounded.

He was also charged with misconduct for engaging in “discreditable” conduct towards junior colleagues on two occasions in 2018.

Ch Insp Kandohla has denied all the allegations.

Sgt Di-Luzio is alleged to have engaged in conduct concerning misuse of a corporate Barclaycard and “discreditable” conduct towards junior colleagues throughout 2017-2018.

He denied all the allegations.

And PC Kandohla, who the panel heard is now married to Ch Insp Kandohla, is alleged to have failed to challenge him, and been complicit in encouraging another officer to make a false statement for a DPS investigation.

PC Kandohla denied the allegations.

Mr Beggs QC told the hearing: “There can be no doubt that Ch Supt Martin is a capable police officer and the panel will read a great deal to his credit.

“Others have positive things to say about all of these officers.”

The hearing, which is expected to last for a month, continues.