Tribunal sacks 'sickie' officer who faked illness to go racing

A 32-year-old policeman who faked illness three times so he could go horseracing and was spotted on television celebrating a win at Royal Ascot was sacked on Tuesday.

PC Jonathan Adams had denied gross misconduct and told a disciplinary hearing at Gloucestershire Police HQ that he was genuinely ill but went racing as a form of therapy for his stress, migraines and irritable bowel syndrome.

But a tribunal which heard his case over a period of two days ruled he had been dishonest and that going to race meetings was not compatible with his supposed symptoms.

The tribunal chairman, lawyer Alex Lock, said he and his two colleagues had unanimously concluded that the symptoms he described were "not compatible with the activities he said he undertook in going racing".

Mr Lock said: "One could not realistically do both. We were forced to conclude, in those circumstances, that he was not suffering to the degree he said he was.

"As the allegations relate to his honesty and integrity they must fall into the category of gross misconduct."

PC Adams had told the tribunal that on September 30, 2015, April 6, 2016 and June 17, 2016 he was genuinely ill and called in sick.

On the first two dates he travelled to Nottingham racecourse to see a horse called Little Lady Katie, in which he had a two and a half per cent share through owners' syndicate Onto a Winner.

Then on June 17 he went to Royal Ascot to watch Quiet Reflection, another horse owned by the same syndicate but in which he did not have a personal share, win the Commonwealth Cup.

The panel saw a ten-second TV clip of him celebrating the win, raising his fists to the camera.

PC Adams said on all three occasions he decided it would do him more good to go to the races than stay at home because racecourses were his "happy place" and helped alleviate his symptoms of crippling stomach ache and stabbing pains or migraine headaches.