Met anti-drugs boss smoked cannabis every day tribunal hears

Met anti-drugs boss smoked cannabis every day while former chief Dame Cressida Dick praised his performance and took LSD and magic mushrooms, tribunal hears

• Commander Julian Bennet is accused of using cannabis and other drugs while being praised for his good performance at work by boss Dame Cressida Dick
• He is also accused of breaching the force’s standards for discreditable conduct, honesty and integrity and orders and instructions after failing to do a drug test 
• Suspicions rose when long-serving officer failed to give the sample in July 2020 
• He claims he took cannabidiol, a form of medical cannabis, to treat facial palsy 
• His lawyer wants to case adjourned and says Met are seeking unfair advantage

A police officer who drew up an anti-drugs strategy for the Met used cannabis daily while being praised by Dame Cressida Dick for his performance, a tribunal has heard. 

Commander Julian Bennett, who has served in the force since 1976, is also accused of using LSD and taking magic mushrooms, and for failing to give a drug sample after suspicions arose that he may have used cannabis on July 21, 2020. 

According to the accusations, he then lied about why he failed to provide a test. 

A third allegation states: ‘It is alleged that on July 21 2020 Cdr Bennett provided an explanation for refusing to provide a sample for a with cause drugs test that he knew to be untrue and that his behaviour brings discredit upon the police service and undermines confidence in it.’

Commander Julian Bennett (pictured) who has served in the force since 1976, is also accused of using LSD and taking magic mushrooms, and for failing to give a drug sample after suspicions arose that he may have used cannabis on July 21, 2020.

The officer claimed he had taken cannabidiol, a form of medical cannabis, to treat facial palsy (stock image) 

He is also accused of breaching the force’s standards for discreditable conduct, honesty and integrity and orders and instructions.

Nicknamed ‘sacker’, he was known for taking a tough approach to rogue officers when he presided over disciplinary hearings, but now faces being booted out of the force himself. 

Between 2010 and 2012, he presided over 74 misconduct hearings involving 90 officers and he sacked 56 officers. He chaired 69 of those hearings and kicked two cops out of the force for drug misuse in that time. 

Commander Bennett wrote the force’s anti-drugs strategy, called ‘Dealing with the Impact of drugs on communities’ to run between 2017 and 2021. 

The strategy set out the force’s plans to ‘raise awareness’ about the dangers of drug use. It is not clear if a new strategy is now in place. 

But he was suspended in July 2020 when the allegations came to light.

The officer claimed he had taken cannabidiol, a form of medical cannabis, to treat facial palsy, which an earlier hearing was told he ‘knew to be untrue’. 

His lawyer John Beggs QC told the hearing he had been taking medical cannabis ‘from Holland and Barrett and the like’. 

A disciplinary hearing at the Met’s Empress State Building in West Brompton, west London, heard the case against him could be thrown out because the key witness, a nurse who was his lodger for seven weeks and is planning on writing a book about the claims, has not turned up to give evidence. 

She said she was unwell when the hearing began on August 30 and was ‘resting’ during Friday’s proceedings. 

The disciplinary hearing is being heard at the Met’s Empress State Building in West Brompton, west London

Mr Beggs said it would have been fair to adjourn the hearing but now wants to case dismissed, accusing the force of seeking to obtain an unfair advantage to secure a conviction. 

‘This man has a long and distinguished career in the force,’ he said. 

‘This is not a man, to use a topical example, who is a junior officer accused of sending some offensive WhatsApps. This is an officer who was regularly praised by the most senior officers in this force.

‘His high performance was being commented in the weeks he was allegedly smoking cannabis on a daily basis. This was a period when his high performance was so impressive that the then Commissioner [Cressida Dick] was passing on her thanks.’

He added that the book by the key witness backs up the force’s allegations. 

‘She has a distinct and at times sarcastic and nasty antipathy to my client,’ he said.

‘Not a soul ever smelt the slightest hint of cannabis in that period. He denies ever taking cannabis or any controlled drug.

‘Had he taken a drug test on July 21 2020, he might well have tested positive for an entirely innocent reason. He recognises he should have taken the drugs test.

‘He had been taking cannabis tinctures and oils from Holland and Barrett and the like. He was taking them because he had a very unpleasant medical condition.

It is claimed the officer had been taking cannabis tinctures and oils from Holland and Barrett for ‘a very unpleasant medical condition’ 

‘The oils alleviate the deeply unpleasant and embarrassing symptoms on the face and can give false positive results.

‘He joined the Metropolitan Police in 1976 when Harold Wilson was handing over to James Callaghan. He deserves total fairness from this panel.’

He added that a year’s worth of WhatsApp messages, ranging from December 2019 to February 2021, which the force are understood to be using as evidence, are missing. 

The court heard that the messages involve someone called Mario. 

Mr Beggs added that he felt it was unjust that the key witness is being relied on to disclose messages, asking ‘the complainant to become the disclosure officer’, and that is unfair to rely on her evidence as hearsay. 

Using her evidence as hearsay would not require her to be present at the hearing, which would mean she could not be cross-examined. 

He added that initially the force did not ‘fast track’ the case, meaning there was little or no dispute about the facts, but that they now seek to go ahead without the main witness, which would put the process in a similar position to having been fast tracked. 

He went on to compare the Met’s handling of the case to that of Liam Allan, a criminology graduate who was accused of rape before his case was dropped three days before trial. Following a review, the Met offered him an apology for its handling of his case. 

Mr Beggs has called for a similar review to be carried out into his client’s case. 

His high performance was reportedly so impressive that Dame Cressida Dick had passed on her thanks to him personally

During his career, Commander Bennett has served in a number of high-profile roles, including the planning of the London 2012 Olympics (Stock image) 

If found guilty of gross misconduct, Commander Bennett will be barred from serving in the force for the rest of his life and may face his pension being cut. 

During his career, Commander Bennett has served in a number of high-profile roles, including operations to tackle moped gangs in London and the planning of the London 2012 Olympics. 

He also chaired the panel that sacked PC Simon Harwood, the Met police officer who struck and pushed Ian Tomlinson as he walked away from riot officers on the fringe of the G20 protests in London. 

He headed a panel which dismissed misconduct charges in 2019 against five officers involved in an incident surround the death of musician Sean Rigg. 

The tribunal continues.

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