Jury shocked by former police chief Nick Adderley’s lies

The extent of a former police chief’s deception about his navy career has been published in a 43-page report.

Among the false information given by Nick Adderley, a serious misconduct panel said his comments about the murders of two colleagues were “very shocking”.

Nor did the lies about his candidacy go undetected when he secured the top job in Northamptonshire.

Mr Adderley apologised to his former colleagues.

Mr Adderley provided false information when completing two screening questionnaires in 2016 and 2023.

There were discrepancies between the two men’s service dates, which he attributed to his “lackluster” attitude.

The report also lists seven deceptions on his CV and application form for the position of police chief.

These included falsely claiming to have served ten years in the Navy when in fact he had served two and to have attended the Britannia Royal Naval College, which was not the case.

The serious misconduct committee said his behaviour and public concerns about the vetting processes had caused “substantial” harm to the police service’s reputation.

The BBC sent a series of questions to the Cabinet Office, which oversees the highest level of scrutiny and which granted Mr Adderley a “top secret” security clearance.

She said she did not comment on security requests.

A parliamentary report published last year said the department had “failed to get a grip on this vital government service”.

The jury said that of all the evidence adduced, Mr Adderley’s conduct in relation to two books appeared to them to be the most shocking.

These were written about the murders of PC Fiona Bone and Nicola Hughes in Tameside in 2012.

Mr Adderley, who was the officer division commander at the time, was described in the books as having “seen colleagues die in the Falklands conflict” and holding a “senior position in the armed forces”.

“He attempted to focus the spotlight on himself and his naval fantasy, rather than on his murdered colleagues,” the misconduct committee report said.

He added that he had created a “false legend” around himself “in order to improve his public image.”

His litany of deceptions included wearing a fake medal suggesting he had served actively in the Falklands War, and wearing his brother’s medal suggesting a tour of Northern Ireland.

The former police chief was 15 when the South Atlantic conflict took place and never reached a rank higher than that of seaman.

His service record shows that he was discharged from the Royal Navy in 1986 after being deemed “unfit for duty”, was rejected for officer training and failed a course in using the Sea Cat missile.

Another claim on his application form for police chief, that he acted as a hostage negotiator during a 1986 uprising in Haiti, was also found to be false.

The active service claims were “pure fantasy,” the committee report concluded.

He also detailed his unsuccessful attempts during the hearing to have the panel dismissed on legal grounds and to have the testimony of a key witness quashed.

Nick Adderley was dismissed from the police service after the three-person panel delivered its verdict on June 21.

He was also placed on the list of persons banned from exercising police duties.

The Office of the Police and Fire Commissioner is also reviewing his nomination and has promised to make its findings public.

The BBC has attempted to contact Mr Adderley on several occasions but has so far received no response.

A statement from him was read out on the final day of the serious misconduct hearing.

He apologized for “the hurt I have caused to veterans of the armed forces…because I come from a very proud veteran family.”

Mr Adderley said he wanted to “lead by example and maintain the highest standards of professionalism” in his role.

“I failed in that regard, it is something I deeply regret, a regret I will carry with me for the rest of my life,” he added.