- Avon & Somerset’s Nick Gargan was forced to resign over inappropriate conduct
- Last week his Queen’s Police Medal from 2011 was ‘cancelled and annulled’
- Convicted deputy headteacher David Kemp also lost his MBE from 2013
Eight holders of honours – including a disgraced chief constable and a convicted deputy head teacher – have forfeited their award for bringing the system into disrepute.
Nick Gargan was forced to resign from Avon & Somerset Police in 2015 following a suspension for inappropriate behaviour towards women and a probe that led to him being found guilty of eight charges of misconduct.
Last week, the Government quietly announced his Queen’s Police Medal – received in 2011 – had been ‘cancelled and annulled’ by the Queen.
Nick Gargan (pictured) was forced to resign from Avon & Somerset Police in 2015 following a suspension for inappropriate behaviour towards women and a probe that led to him being found guilty of eight charges of misconduct. He was then stripped of his Queen’s Police Medal
And former deputy head teacher David Kemp lost the MBE he received from the Queen in 2013.
He was found guilty after a police investigation of trying to incite a child to engage in sexual activity.
The decision to strip Gargan, Kemp and six others of their awards was made by the honours forfeiture committee, made up of senior Government officials and lawyers.
The Queen has to approve their recommendations. There is no right of appeal.
The latest dishonours list follows The Mail on Sunday’s revelation earlier this year that a record 11 holders of top honours had been stripped of their awards.
In recent years it has become increasingly common for disgraced recipients to lose their honours, with insiders crediting the internet and stronger due diligence.
Meanwhile, the two Hollywood A-listers facing a welter of accusations of sexual assault retain their honours: producer Harvey Weinstein, who has an honorary CBE, and actor Kevin Spacey, who has an honorary knighthood.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission reported that Gargan had used his work phone to send and receive inappropriate messages and pictures and had leaked confidential information to a BBC journalist who was his girlfriend.
Last night, Gargan would only comment that he had ‘nothing to say’.
Former deputy headteacher David Kemp is pictured being given his MBE from the Queen in 2013, which he has since been stripped of after being convicted of trying to incite a child to engage in sexual activity
DISHONOURS LIST: EIGHT STRIPPED OF THEIR GONGS
MISCONDUCT THAT ENDED TOP COP’S CAREER
Nick Gargan was awarded the Queen’s Police Medal in 2011 in recognition of his long career as a senior police officer. In 2015 he resigned as Chief Constable of Avon & Somerset Police after an investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission found him guilty of eight counts of misconduct.
HUSBAND GIVEN £11,000 FOR NHS WORK THAT NEVER EXISTED
NHS chief Paula Vasco-Knight was given a CBE in 2014 for services to the health service. That year, she resigned from South Devon NHS Trust after whistleblowers revealed nepotism. This year she was handed a suspended sentence for paying her husband Stephen £11,000 of NHS money for work that never existed.
FORMER MAYOR WHO HELPED FRIEND TO CLAIM ILLICIT BENEFITS
Malcolm Belchamber was found guilty in June of fraud and forgery while serving as a councillor in West Sussex. The former mayor of Littlehampton was awarded an MBE for services to the town in 2004 but was later embroiled in producing fraudulent letters to help a friend illicitly claim housing benefit.
RENOWNED ACADEMIC WHO HAS NOW LOST HIS OBE
This leading British academic was awarded an OBE a number of years ago for distinguished services in his field, but has now been stripped of his honour. Neither his identity nor the reason for the removal of the award can be disclosed for legal reasons.
DEPUTY HEAD’S X-RATED WEB CHATS WITH TEENAGE BOY
David Kemp was found guilty of attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity in July. The deputy head teacher and director of music from Worcestershire was discovered by police after having X-rated web chats with a teenage boy. He had been awarded an MBE for services to education in 2013.
CHILDREN’S HOME DIRECTOR WAS A SECRET PEADOPHILE
Scot Trevor Francis, a nurse and director of a children’s home, was given an MBE in 2012 by Prince Charles. But behind his image as an ‘upstanding citizen’, Francis was in fact a paedophile. He was found guilty in March this year of sexually abusing children and sentenced to nine months in prison.
‘SHINING STAR’ GOT WORKERS TO TAKE HER SPEEDING POINTS
Sunderland businesswoman Anne Ganley was jailed in 2016 after getting employees to take her speeding points. Handed an OBE in 2013 for services to employment, she had been a ‘shining star’ of the business community but admitted perverting the course of justice.
THE ST JOHN AMBULANCE VOLUNTEER WHO ABUSED A CADET
Kent ambulance volunteer Derek Eaglestone was jailed in February after being convicted of sex crimes dating back more than five decades. Eaglestone was given an MBE in 1994 for volunteering at the St John Ambulance, but during his time with the charity he abused a cadet.
