Assistant Chief Constable of GMP committed gross misconduct

A disciplinary panel has ruled a female police chief committed gross misconduct when she launched a drunken tirade at a junior colleague about the size of her breasts.

Assistant Chief Constable Rebekah Sutcliffe told Superintendent Sarah Jackson that her "credibility was zero" after she had a "boob job" and berated her as a "laughing stock".

Ms Sutcliffe, 47, who was the most senior female Greater Manchester Police officer at the time, verbally attacked her younger subordinate following a gala dinner at the national senior women in policing conference last May.

She then went on to pull down the front of her dress to expose her left breast and say:

The haranguing in the early hours of May 6 at Manchester's Hilton Hotel concluded when Ms Sutcliffe told her colleague she was no longer going to support a further promotion for her.

Ms Jackson, who was appointed by Ms Sutcliffe as a temporary superintendent in a secondment role, later said she was "shocked, mortified, embarrassed and ashamed" at the comments made by her superior.

On Tuesday, the panel was told that Ms Jackson, who has since transferred to Cumbria Constabulary, had suffered "great anxiety from the night itself and since".

The hearing was told that former GMP chief constable Sir Peter Fahy had twice promoted Ms Sutcliffe and felt she had the potential to reach the highest rank.

The panel has recommended Ms Sutcliffe receives a final written warning, rather than be dismissed from her job. They say she was cruel to Superintendent Sarah Jackson and that she had discredited the police force.

Greater Manchester Police will decide whether Ms Sutcliffe keeps her job.