PC 'doubly' claimed wedding refunds - hearing

A police officer who "doubly" claimed refunds after his wedding was cancelled in 2020 due to the Covid pandemic has been found guilty of gross misconduct.

Tom Walker, who was based in Bradford before resigning from West Yorkshire Police last month, "deliberately and dishonestly" received over £4,000 from a church in Bingley, the National Trust and the wedding caterers, a panel heard.

Walker and his wife accepted the cash despite having already received a £13,000 insurance payout covering all wedding costs, members of the hearing were told.

Walker, who did not attend the hearing on Friday, had admitted being "naive and mistaken", but he denied "dishonestly misleading anyone", the panel heard.

The hearing, which was held virtually at the force's HQ in Wakefield, was told that Walker and his wife had been due to marry at All Saints Church in Bingley in April 2020, but were forced to postpone the ceremony weeks before when Covid hit.

The couple later initiated a claim with their wedding insurers, which was eventually settled for £13,088.50 in February 2021.

That covered costs including their catering, the booking of the church, bell-ringers and a £500 fee they had paid to the National Trust for the wedding reception at East Riddlesden Hall, near Keighley.

However, the misconduct hearing was told that Walker then separately received and kept refunds from several organisations involved in the wedding.

Presenting the case for the policing authority at the misconduct hearing, Andrew Pickin said the pair continued to pursue their catering suppliers for cash after their insurance claim was settled.

They eventually received more than £3,900 from the company in instalments.

The insurance payout had also covered the £910 fee for the church service, even though the wedding was rescheduled rather than cancelled altogether.

The church paid the couple £225 for being unable to provide bell-ringers because of social distancing guidelines when the wedding finally happened in 2021, even though that was covered by insurance, too.

Mr Pickin said Walker had failed to disclose being double-paid to either the insurance company or several vendors involved in the wedding, conduct Mr Pickin described as "fundamentally criminal".

The panel heard that West Yorkshire's policing standards department (PSD) received an anonymous tip-off through Crimestoppers in October 2023 about the situation.

Members of the panel were told that a criminal investigation was launched, but was discontinued after the insurance company indicated the money concerned fell short of the threshold for which it would usually pursue a prosecution.

When questioned by PSD officers, PC Walker claimed his "thinking skills had been impacted by the Covid pandemic and the stress of the wedding", the panel heard.

It was said that the officer insisted he had initially believed the insurance payout was a "form of compensation" for the "arguing and stress" he and his wife had been caused through claiming.

Katie Riley, the misconduct panel chair, said the case against the former officer was found to have been proven.

She added that he would have been dismissed had he still been serving in the West Yorkshire force.

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