An alleged ‘Walter Mitty’ police boss who wore a Falklands War medal despite being just 15 when the conflict happened has been accused of telling a ‘pack of lies’.
Nick Adderley, who was suspended from his role as head of Northamptonshire Police, is facing a gross misconduct hearing amid claims he exaggerated his rank and length of service and lied about his naval achievements.
Adderley had previously claimed the South Atlantic Medal he has been pictured wearing since at least 2012 was given to him by his brother Richard when he emigrated to Australia in 2008.
The SAM was awarded to British military personnel and civilians for service in the Falklands conflict.
But John Beggs , representing the Office of the Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner today told the hearing in Northampton that Richard Adderley did not embark for The Falklands until July 2, 1982.
Nick Adderley, suspended as head of Northamptonshire Police, has been facing a gross misconduct hearing amid claims he exaggerated his rank and lied about naval achievements
Adderley previously claimed the South Atlantic Medal he has been pictured wearing since at least 2012 was given to him by his brother Richard when he emigrated to Australia in 2008
That was later than the end of the hostilities almost three weeks earlier on June 14.
He added that the chief constable’s brother was not entitled to wear the SAM with rosette and only applied for a SAM under a change in criteria for applicants put in place in 2015 on October 12, 2023.
That was 10 days after Nick Adderley received a notice of investigation from the Independent Office for Police Conduct watchdog.
The married father-of-two was among the frontrunners to take charge of London’s Metropolitan Police before Sir Mark Rowley became commissioner in 2022.
The misconduct panel previously heard from a Ministry of Defence medal office expert that a SAM allegedly worn by Nick Adderley on a number of occasions since at least 2012 was ‘110 per cent’ a fake.
Mr Beggs said: ‘Mr Adderley asserted in interview that his brother went to The Falklands on the HMS Hermes. He repeats that, but in fact he wasn’t.
‘How plausible is it that a brother wouldn’t know if his brother had served in the conflict? It is something you would know with exquisite detail.’
Mr Beggs said this was ‘entirely indicative of one of the worst deceits’ Mr Adderley had put forward.
He said: ‘The circumstances of Richard Adderley’s claim to the medal were distinctly dubious.
‘He said he got it a few weeks after he arrived in the mess hall, in a box from some lads with his name and service number on it.
‘What would he have been awarded it for, and why would some lads be giving him the medal?
‘How on earth could the medal have been conceptualised, approved in Whitehall, designed and manufactured and then sent, perhaps by Concorde, to arrive by July 3?
‘It is utterly preposterous and it is a pack of lies in which unfortunately a chief constable has engaged.
Nick Addeley, pictured on the first day of his misconduct hearing on May 28, has been under investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct
Nick Adderley (pictured, centre, leaving his misconduct hearing in Northampton last month) has been accused of wearing a Falklands War medal despite being only 15 at the time
‘Perhaps the key point – why do you suppose that Nick Adderley was so unenthusiastic about calling Richard Adderley to give evidence?
‘Just as he wouldn’t give evidence, he didn’t want his brother giving evidence, it would have been a car crash.
‘It gets worse because Richard Adderley wasn’t entitled to any SAM medal until the criteria was amended in 2015. Nick Adderley said he gave it to him before emigrated to Australia in 2008.
‘We now know Richard Adderley wasn’t even entitled to a SAM during that period.
‘Why did Richard Adderley say he got the medal a few weeks after arriving at a mess hall? Because he wasn’t telling the truth, and at whose instigation is he not telling the truth? If you join the dots, we say it is pretty obvious what is going on.
‘Everywhere you look, there are inconsistencies.’
During his closing statements, Mr Beggs urged the misconduct panel, chaired by legally qualified chairman Callum Cowx, not to view the evidence in ‘compartments’.
He said: ‘To do so would strip it of competence or sense. Every one of the groups of allegations all relate to one fundamental issue and the importance of that obvious point is that there is an overarching theme in this case.
‘From start to finish, from 2009 when he started wearing a SAM and has probably been involved in some skullduggery as to its providence.
‘The theme runs throughout the 14 years covered by the charges – one has to join the dots and not compartmentalise.’
Mr Adderley did not attend today’s hearing, but Mr Cowx said he had directed him to attend when the hearing continues tomorrow.
A panel has been told of media coverage falsely suggesting Adderley (pictured) had served in the Royal Navy for ten years and that he was a Falklands veteran
Northamptonshire Chief Constable Nick Adderley is pictured here arriving at the Northampton Saints ground on May 28 for his gross misconduct disciplinary hearing
Matthew Holdcroft, representing Mr Adderley, said his client was simply proud of his older brother’s military service.
He added that the police chief wore the medals gifted by him, adding: ‘It isn’t unusual for a younger brother to consider that which an older brother tells them to be true.’
The misconduct hearing took a three-week break at the end of last month after Mr Adderley’s defence team accused the panel of bias and put forward an application for them to be recused.
The application was rejected and the hearing resumed today, before the panel retired to start its deliberations.
