A chief constable who was found guilty of gross misconduct after a disciplinary hearing which heard he lied with “arrogant temerity” about his military career has been sacked by Northamptonshire Police.
The downfall of Nick Adderley, 57, began when he was spotted wearing a South Atlantic Medal (SAM) despite being only 15 when the conflict with Argentina over the Falkland Islands was fought in 1982.
On Friday he was dismissed without notice after a disciplinary panel hearing, headed by Callum Cowx, a former British army lawyer.
Mr. Adderley was suspended in October 2023 after the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) warned him he was being investigated.
Mr. Adderley—who served in the Royal Navy for two years prior to joining the police—had been pictured wearing the medal a number of times since 2012, but said it had been given to him by his older brother Richard, when he emigrated to Australia.
But the panel was told Richard Adderley did not embark for the Falklands until July 2, 1982, three weeks after the Argentine forces surrendered.
The panel also heard his brother had not originally been entitled to wear the SAM with a rosette.
Medal Was ‘110 Percent Fake’
A Ministry of Defence medal expert told the hearing the SAM Mr. Adderley wore was “110 percent fake.”The Falklands conflict claimed the lives of 255 British servicemen and although thousands were awarded the medal during the South Atlantic campaign only a small number are allowed to wear it with a rosette, symbolising their immediate presence in the area at the time.
Mr. Adderley had also claimed at various times he was either a commander or a lieutenant in the Navy when he was only the lowliest rank of able seaman.
He had also lied about attending Britannia Royal Naval College for four years—his application had actually been rejected—and being a military negotiator in Haiti in 1984, despite never having even visited the country.
The panel found all the allegations against Mr. Adderley proven, saying they found “his audacity to be quite staggering” and found he had lied with “arrogant temerity.”
The panel said Mr. Adderley’s “sustained brazen dishonesty and sustained lack of integrity will cause lasting harm to the police service.”
‘No Police Officer Is Above Independent Scrutiny’
Northamptonshire’s Acting Chief Constable Ivan Balhatchet said, “No police officer is above independent scrutiny of their actions and when someone falls short of the standards expected of them, they will be accountable.”Mr. Adderley applied to become chief constable of Northamptonshire Police in 2018 and put down that he had been in the Royal Navy for 10 years instead of two, later claiming he had included a period in the Sea Cadets.
On Friday, Mr. Cowx—who is also a judge of the British Indian Ocean Territory Supreme Court—said: “Mr Adderley has a genuinely fascinating success story to tell. He joined the Royal Navy as a rating, a career was not for him.”
“He found his vocation in policing and rose from able seaman to chief constable and that’s an amazing achievement worth telling, but something in Nick Adderley told him that wasn’t enough,” he added.
Mr. Cowx said John Beggs, KC, a lawyer for the police force, described Mr. Adderley’s actions as “stolen valour” and Mr. Cowx said he agreed: “By wearing medals he was not entitled to wear, he stole their richly deserved valour and recognition and his explanation was risible.”
He said of the former chief constable’s brother, “Richard Adderley is, or was, a police officer, yet he too has lied freely to deflect attention from his brother.”
In April 2024 the IOPC referred a file to the Crown Prosecution Service for them to consider the possibility of criminal charges.
In a statement from Mr. Adderley read out at Friday’s hearing he said it had been the “greatest honour” of his life to “lead the brave men and women” in Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, and Northamptonshire over a 32-year career in the police.
He said: “I offer a heartfelt apology. Today’s determination showed I have failed you, something I deeply regret. I regret I will no longer be part of your future.”
“Please be under no illusion I will be there cheering you on from the sidelines,” he added.
