Senior officer to retire after judicially reviewing gross misconduct finding
An assistant chief constable threatened with dismissal over the loss of top-secret documents will be allowed to retire after 30 years’ service.
Marcus Beale admitted breaching the Official Secrets Act at a criminal trial following the theft of classified documents from his car.
The former West Midlands Police (WMP) assistant chief constable and head of counter-terror operations was later also found guilty of gross misconduct and was recommended for dismissal – but proceedings were delayed after he applied for a judicial review.
The force has now confirmed Mr Beale will be allowed to retire on April 28, following a rescheduled special case hearing on April 18.
He was fined £3,500 at Westminster Magistrates’ Court for failing to safeguard the sensitive documents by leaving them in a locked briefcase in his car for five days in May last year. He was immediately suspended following the December court case.
The top secret papers, which included minutes of a meeting of the Executive Liaison Group, have so far not been recovered.
In February, he was found guilty of gross misconduct and was originally due to face a decision on his future on March 28, however, this meeting was rescheduled following the launch of a judicial review.
A WMP spokesperson said: “We can confirm that ACC Marcus Beale indicated his intention to retire after 30 years’ service.
“The application has now been processed by the force and we can confirm that ACC Beale will retire on April 28.
“A further special case hearing is scheduled to take place on Wednesday April 18 before Chief Constable Dave Thompson.”