Sacked Met officers to have appeal over athlete search

Two Metropolitan Police officers sacked for the way they carried out a stop-and-search of two athletes, including Britain's Bianca Williams, will have an appeal heard in October.

Ex-PCs Jonathan Clapham and Sam Franks were dismissed after a disciplinary panel found they lied about smelling cannabis when they pulled over Olympic sprinter Ricardo Dos Santos and his partner Williams in July 2020.

The police followed the pair as they drove from training to their west London home with their baby in the back seat of their Mercedes.

They were handcuffed and searched on suspicion of having drugs and weapons but nothing was found. The officers' actions were found to have amounted to gross misconduct.

The force came under heavy criticism after footage of the stop in Maida Vale was posted on social media, showing a distressed Williams, who was concerned about being separated from her baby.

In October last year, misconduct panel chairwoman Chiew Yin Jones said Clapham and Franks' conduct had breached standards of professional behaviour in respect of honesty and integrity and this amounted to gross misconduct. They were then sacked.

After the hearing, Met Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Matt Ward said: "While the panel accepted the officers' version of events in most matters, including that their decisions were not motivated by ethnicity, it found that PC Clapham and PC Franks lied about smelling drugs on stopping the vehicle.

"Honesty and integrity are at the core of policing and, as the panel has concluded, there can be no place in the Met for officers who do not uphold these values."

In the wake of their dismissal, an online appeal raised more than £150,000 for the officers.

The Police Appeals Tribunal, which hears appeals against findings of gross misconduct involving police officers, is set to hear their case on October 3 and 4.

Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected]