'Lost papers’ terror chief facing sack after leaving secret documents in his car
ONE OF Britain’s most senior police officers is facing the sack for losing top secret anti-terror documents after leaving them in his car.
Marcus Beale was found guilty of gross misconduct by a West Midlands Police disciplinary panel
Counter-terror unit head Assistant Chief Constable Marcus Beale, who has already been fined £3,500 for compromising national security, was found guilty of gross misconduct by a West Midlands Police disciplinary panel yesterday.
Panel chairman Corinna Ferguson said: “We have decided to recommend dismissal as the appropriate outcome.”
Mr Beale’s future now lies with his Chief Constable David Thompson who will make a decision in the next few weeks.
The panel heard Mr Beale left the documents in a locked case in the boot of his car for four or five days in May 2016, during which he went shopping, visited a pub and left the car at a station on a long weekend.
Mr Beale said he believes the briefcase and documents were stolen while his car was on his driveway
We have decided to recommend dismissal as the appropriate outcome
Mr Beale, 54, who is due to retire in April, said he believed the briefcase and documents were stolen while the car was on his driveway.
He suspects a crook using an electronic device to bypass the central locking and snatch the briefcase.
It has never been found.