Northumbria police chief loses case for unfair dismissal

Denise Aubrey (pictured) lost an unfair dismissal case after she was accused of gossiping about alleged affairs within the force

A former police legal chief accused of gossiping about alleged affairs within the force which led to a punch-up at a barbecue has been ordered to pay £15k in legal fees after losing her unfair dismissal tribunal.

Denise Aubrey lost the tribunal after making damaging allegations against Northumbria Police based on ‘speculation, rumour and innuendo’. 

The 54-year-old claimed that she had been discriminated against because of her gender, but the tribunal heard how she apparently told staff details of allegations of an affair involving ex-Chief Constable Mike Craik and assistant chief constable Carolyn Peacock.

This led to Mrs Peacock’s police officer husband punching Mr Craik at a barbecue, an employment tribunal heard in 2016. 

Mr Craik’s wife then pulled an emergency chord at their Northumberland home which alerted armed police.

It was said Mr Craik ordered the incident be deleted from the police log.

The trio strenuously denied all of the allegations.

More lurid accusations were made during the hearing by Aubrey, including that officers used force accommodation behind the Ponteland HQ as ‘love pads’ and public money being spent on a cover-up.

Ms Aubrey, the former head of legal services, said sex discrimination and victimisation were rife in the force.

The panel dismissed the claims of sexual harassment and said Ms Aubrey’s conduct at the time warranted the disciplinary charges and her suspension.

Ms Aubrey had complained of a glass ceiling, but the tribunal found that her position in the police force was the reason for the ceiling.

It said: ‘Her frustration over the lack of career development for her had nothing to do with her sex; it had everything to do with her occupation.

‘She had reached her ceiling.’

The 54-year-old was accused of gossiping about the alleged affair between ex-chief constable Mike Craik (left) and his assistant chief constable Carolyn Peacock (right)

Claims of discrimination on the grounds of sex were described as ‘fanciful’ by the panel.

The tribunal concluded that Ms Aubrey, in a state of anger, had made the confidential disclosure for ‘purely self-serving’ reasons.

The judgment said: ‘We accept that the disclosure was made to staff who were themselves bound by professional and contractual duties of confidentiality.

‘Had it been made in a professional context, the disclosure would have been innocuous.

‘But it was made for purely self-serving personal reasons, in anger and in the heat of the moment.’

Former chief constable Sue Sim (left) ‘flipped’ when she was told Ms Aubrey had disclosed confidential information about Mr Craik’s affair with a colleague. The tribunal has heard the alleged affair led to Mr Craik being punched at a barbecue by Mrs Peacock’s husband Jim (right)

Ms Aubrey worked for Northumbria Police for 20 years before she was sacked for gross misconduct in 2014, which she claimed was for disclosing private information to staff.

Ms Aubrey said the allegations were common knowledge among staff.

Judge Humphrey Forrest concluded that ‘this was a fair dismissal’.

Northumbria Police launched a costs application immediately after Ms Aubrey lost the tribunal in 2016.

A judge has now ordered Ms Aubrey, who claimed victimisation was rife in the force, to pay back £15,000 – a mere 2.6% of its initial £577,000 claim.

Responding to the costs application ruling, a force spokesman said: ‘We welcome the ruling of the judge and are glad that some of the money spent on defending the force against these allegations will be returned.

‘It would have been unconscionable for us not to seek reimbursement on behalf of our local communities and this much-needed money will now be reinvested back into policing.’ 

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