Met Police sergeant sacked after drink driving on Iranian embassy protection duty
A police sergeant responsible for overseeing the protection of the Iranian embassy in London has been sacked from his position with the Metropolitan Police after he arrived for duty while drunk.
Police Sergeant Paul Barrett was dismissed without notice after his conduct was found to amount to gross misconduct.
Sergeant Barrett was dismissed on March 1 after he was suspected of consuming alcohol before and/or during his shift that involved driving.
A subsequent breath test revealed a reading of 46 micrograms of alcohol in 100 milliliters of breath; this exceeded the legal driving limit of 35 micrograms. This was also well above the Met’s internal limit of 13 micrograms for commissioned officers.
Sergeant Barrett pleaded guilty to drink driving at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on March 16, according to the final report of the police misconduct hearing. He was fined £700 and banned from driving for 14 months.
On the day of the incident, Sgt Barrett was the supervising sergeant of officers at the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran who augmented existing security provided by the Met’s Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command (PaDP). His job was to drive between embassies to ensure missions were carried out and officers remained alert.
Two officers on foot patrol observed Sergeant Barrett smelling of alcohol upon his arrival at the embassy. He became defensive when challenged and refused to engage further, leading to concerns being raised up the chain of command and his subsequent dismissal.
Commander Jason Prins, who presided over the misconduct hearing, said: “I have found that you are unfit to carry out your responsibilities. It is unacceptable to attend a shift with excessive alcohol. This was a shift where you were required to drive and the amount of alcohol in your system meant it was unlawful for you to drive.”
He added: “This was a shift where you supervised other officers on a high-profile, sensitive and stressful guard duty. You were blatantly drinking to them, so much so that they discussed the matter with you and then another supervisor.”
Commander Prins concluded that Sgt Barrett’s behavior was discreditable and could “seriously undermine confidence in the police”.
The report acknowledged that this was “a single, brief incident of misconduct in the context of years of service” and noted that seven character references spoke “brilliantly” about Sergeant Barrett’s character and service.
