Nick Adderley

Nicholas Adderley (born 1966) is a British former senior police officer who had served as Chief Constable of Northamptonshire Police from 2018 to 2024, when he was dismissed for gross misconduct. He had embellished his military service in the Royal Navy and fabricated receiving both Northern Ireland and Falklands medals.

Early life
Adderley was born in 1966, and grew up in New Moston, Manchester, England. As a child, he was a member of the Sea Cadets, a youth organisation that is sponsored by the Ministry of Defence, from the age of ten. Adderley joined the Royal Navy in 1984 as a rating and left after serving for less than two years with the rank of able seaman. He would later claim that he had attended the Britannia Royal Naval College, and served for 10 years in the Navy as an officer reaching the rank of lieutenant or commander.

Police career
Adderley joined Cheshire Constabulary in 1992 at the age of 25 as a police constable.

He then took a break from the Police Service but has claimed to have worked in the public sector work in the Home Office for 2 years at the Police Standards Unit on secondment as a Chief Inspector. However, according to the response to a Freedom of Information Act request, Adderley worked for the Home Office from February to October 2006. Adderley was also reported serving as a Chief Inspector within Cheshire in August 2006.

He later transferred to the Greater Manchester Police (GMP), where he was promoted to Chief Superintendent in August 2011. In September 2013, he became the territorial commander of the North Manchester Division; keeping the same rank.

In 2015, he was promoted to assistant chief constable at Staffordshire Police after completing his Strategic Command Course.

Chief Constable
On 6 August 2018, Adderley became Chief Constable of Northamptonshire Police.

He was also the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) national lead for disclosure and safeguarding as well as for motorcycling and criminal use of motorcycles.

In 2019 Adderley was involved in the investigation of the death of Harry Dunn in a motorcycle crash, where a suspect, the wife of a U.S. intelligence officer, claimed diplomatic immunity and left the United Kingdom. Adderley was criticised for tweeting "How sad but how predictable!!" about Dunn's parents' decision to sue the suspect in the U.S. civil courts. The parents called for his resignation, and referred Northamptonshire Police to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC). The Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Stephen Mold spoke to Adderley about the tweet and said that the force's communications should "remain professional and sensitive".

In April 2020, Adderley was rebuked by Home Secretary Priti Patel after controversial comments regarding his department's response to COVID-19 received wide media attention. He had stated at a press conference that while his police would not, "at this stage, start to marshal supermarkets and [check] the items in baskets and trolleys to see whether it's a legitimate necessary item", that if people did not heed his warnings, "we will start to do that". Patel declared that his comments had been "inappropriate". Adderley subsequently backed away from the threatened policing shift.

In February 2023 Adderley temporarily retired from Northamptonshire Police, due to return in April 2023. This was owing to pension arrangements for officers having reached 30 years' accumulated service negatively impacting the financial tenability of continuing in the role without that break. Adderley was suspended on 16 October 2023 as part of a gross misconduct investigation, overseen by the IOPC.

Misconduct, dismissal, and criminal investigations
On 29 September 2023 it was reported in the media that Adderley had been wearing two campaign medals which he was not entitled to: the South Atlantic Medal for the Falklands War and the General Service Medal with Northern Ireland clasp. This was despite Adderley being only 15 years old at the time of the Falklands War. A Northamptonshire Police press release in 2023, since withdrawn, stated the chief constable was a Falklands War veteran. A complaint was made to the office of the Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, who in turn referred the matter to the IOPC for investigation. Adderley was suspended in October 2023. The explanation that Adderley provided was that they had been given to him by his brothers to wear. In response to the complaint, he "immediately took advice last week regarding the protocol and have changed the side of [his] chest on which these medals are worn." On 10 April 2024 the IOPC announced that it had completed its criminal investigation and was now referring evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service to consider whether to bring a criminal charge.

A second criminal investigation against Adderley was instigated in March 2024 when Staffordshire Police served Adderley and another officer with papers alleging fraud in relation to the maintenance of police vehicles during the period when Adderley was the Assistant Chief Constable.

In December 2023, the BBC reported that Adderley had falsely claimed to have been a Royal Navy officer. A police press release in 2023 stated Adderley had served for 10 years in the Royal Navy, when he had actually served less than two years.

In May 2024, details of the gross misconduct allegations were published: "he has inter alia exaggerated the rank, duration and achievements in his service with the Royal Navy" and also that he "implied that he served in the Falklands War", which are "in breach of several standards of professional behaviour". Adderley had claimed on his 2018 application, CV and supporting statement that he had held the rank of Commander, led forces in active service, received numerous commendations, negotiated a ceasefire in Haiti in 1986 and attended Britannia naval college for 4 years. During an IOPC interview he claimed these were errors as he was only ever an able seaman, referred to his leadership as when he was in the sea cadets, been commended in the literal sense by being told "well done" and never visited Haiti but rather wrote a paper on events. The latter being debunked once it transpired he lacked the basic grades to enter the naval college, instead claiming this to be an aspiration and that this was to show his ambition. The full published judgement lists the lies told both in gaining the rank of Chief Constable and when questioned under caution by the IOPC The gross misconduct disciplinary hearing was held between 28 and 30 May, before being adjourned until 20 June. On 21 June 2024, the panel conducting the disciplinary hearing found Adderley guilty of gross misconduct. Adderley was dismissed without notice and placed on the police barred list.

Adderley's fabricated military service and wearing of medals that he was not entitled to, led to some calling him a "walt", a slang term for military impostors. Such "stolen valour" is not currently illegal in the United Kingdom, but the reaction to this case has led politicians from the Conservative Party and the Labour Party leader Keir Starmer to call for a change in the law.

Honours