Suspended Northamptonshire police chief Nick Adderley will not give evidence to 'fake medal' hearing
A medals expert has told a misconduct panel he is "110% sure" a Falklands War medal alleged to have been worn by a suspended chief constable was a fake.
Nick Adderley, Northamptonshire's chief constable, is accused of gross misconduct having allegedly exaggerated his rank, length of service and achievements while in the Royal Navy.
That includes either promoting or failing to correct suggestions that he fought in the Falklands War in 1982 - when he would have been just 15 years old.
Mr Adderley had been due to give evidence but, after a short meeting on Wednesday afternoon, his barrister Matthew Holdcroft said his client had decided not to give evidence “in light of legal advice given” in relation to potential criminal proceedings.
Complaints were made against Mr Adderley after he was seen wearing a South Atlantic Medal (SAM), awarded to British military personnel and civilians for service in the conflict.
Speaking on the second day of a three-day disciplinary hearing, Chris Hayward, who has worked at the Ministry of Defence's medal office for 15 years, told the hearing that, during his career, he had inspected "hundreds, if not thousands" of SAMs.
He said that, in his view, a SAM sent to him by the Independent Office for PoliceConduct (IOPC) - and allegedly voluntarily handed over by Mr Adderley following an interview in October 2023 - was not genuine.
Mr Adderley has claimed the medal he had been pictured wearing several timessince at least 2010 was given to him by his brother when he emigrated.
He remains suspended on his £176,550-a-year salary.
Giving evidence on the second day of the hearing, at Northampton Saints' stadium, Mr Hayward said the medal he was asked to examine was of "poorer quality" compared with official SAMs.
"As soon as I picked it up, I could tell. It was lighter and not made of the same material," he said.
"You could tell it was not cupronickel and the mount didn't swivel - a real one can swivel around.
"Copy medals look more blingy, more shiny - you can tell straight away. We are handling official medals all the time."
The expert also said he did not believe the inscription on the medal was engraved in the same way as the MoD's medals, saying: "It was totally different, a completely different look and font."
Asked by John Beggs KC, representing the Office of the Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, whether he thought the medal was genuine or a copy, Mr Hayward said: "It was a copy medal, I'm 110% sure."
Mr Hayward added that the medal he was sent, which did not have a covering notewith it, was thrown away after it was examined "because they are not worth anymoney".
Asked where someone might acquire a copy medal, Mr Hayward said: "People can buy them off reputable medal dealers, but they are not made to the same spec as the MoD's medals."
Neil Collins, lead investigator in the case at the IOPC, said in his evidence that the medal was handed over by Mr Adderley at the end of his interview with him and was sent to the MoD in a police evidence bag.
Matthew Holdcroft, defending Mr Adderley, raised doubts that the medal received by the MoD was the same one that was sent by the IOPC due to the lack of a covering note.
Mr Collins also told the hearing there had been a service number on the medal he sent, while Mr Hayward said there was not one on the medal he received.
During the first day of the hearing, the panel was told that Mr Adderley had claimed he served in the Royal Navy for 10 years when he had served for only two, had attended theprestigious Britannia Royal Naval College, despite his application being rejected, and that he had been a military negotiator in Haiti, when he had never been to the country.
The hearing continues.
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