Claimant v The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis — 2020

The claimant, a Black man of Ghanaian West African descent and a Detective Constable, complained about the respondent's handling of a Form 728 complaint sent to the IOPC on 12 June 2021. The tribunal found that parts of that document were protected disclosures: the allegation concerning dishonesty by ex-Detective Sergeant Murphy and the allegation that earlier whistleblowing concerns had not been lawfully assessed or recorded. Other alleged disclosures were found to be assertions, conjecture, insufficiently specific, or not reasonably believed to be in the public interest or substantially true.

The protected disclosure detriment claim failed because the tribunal did not find that the alleged detriments were made out. It found that the complaint had been reviewed, triaged, referred to Acting Inspector Chalmers, considered with legal advice, and answered by letter on 27 February 2022. The tribunal found the delay was explained by workload and the complexity and history of the allegations, and that the claimant was not entitled to a particular recording outcome for conduct matters.

The direct race discrimination claim failed because the tribunal found that the factual premises of failing to contact the claimant and ignoring new information were not established as less favourable treatment. It found material differences between the claimant's position and the comparator relied on, Detective Inspector Veeren, and concluded that there was no case-specific evidence from which race could reasonably be inferred as a factor. The victimisation claim also failed: although previous tribunal claims were accepted as protected acts, the tribunal found no relevant detriment and no basis for concluding that Acting Inspector Chalmers acted because of those protected acts or to undermine or punish the claimant for prior proceedings.