A police sergeant responsible for supervising the protection of the Iranian embassy in London has been dismissed from the Metropolitan Police after reporting for duty while intoxicated.
Police Sergeant Paul Barrett has been dismissed without notice after his behaviour was found to have amounted to gross misconduct.
Sgt Barrett was removed from duty on March 1 after it was suspected he had consumed alcohol while and/or before his shift which involved driving a vehicle.
A subsequent breath test revealed a reading of 46 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath, exceeding the legal driving limit of 35 microgrammes. This was also significantly above the Met’s internal limit for officers on duty, which stands at 13 microgrammes.
According to the outcome report from a police misconduct hearing, Sgt Barrett pleaded guilty on 16 March at Westminster Magistrates’ Court to driving with excess alcohol. He was fined £700 and disqualified from driving for 14 months.
On the day of the incident, Sgt Barrett was the supervising sergeant for officers augmenting the existing security provided by the Met’s Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command (PaDP) at the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran. His role involved driving between embassies to ensure posts were covered and officers remained alert.
Two officers on foot patrol observed Sgt Barrett smelled of alcohol upon his arrival at the embassy. When challenged, he became defensive and refused to engage further, leading to concerns being raised up the chain of command and his subsequent removal from duties.
Commander Jason Prins, who chaired the misconduct hearing, stated: "I found you were not fit to carry out your responsibilities. Attending a shift with excess alcohol is unacceptable. This was a shift during which you were required to drive and the amount of alcohol in your system meant it was illegal for you to drive."
He added: "This was a shift in which you were supervising other officers in a high-profile, sensitive and stressful protection post. You were perceptibly in drink to them, such that they raised it with you and then another supervisor."
Commander Prins concluded that Sgt Barrett’s conduct was discreditable and "likely to seriously damage confidence in the police".
The report acknowledged that this was "a single and short incident of misconduct, in the context of many years of service”, and noted that seven character references spoke "glowingly" of Sgt Barrett’s character and service.
