'Reckless' ex-PC would have been sacked for drugs
Ex Essex PC Joshua Brady tested positive for anabolic androgenic steroids which are a Class C drug and only available through prescription.
A misconduct hearing took place on 17 June found Mr Brady had breached professional standards and concluded he would have been sacked if he had not already resigned.
Chief Constable Ben-Julian Harrington, said: "Police officers who take drugs that are not prescribed by a doctor, or are not lawful, have no place in policing."
Mr Brady was also placed on the College of Policing barred list.
Mr Harrington added: "PC Brady was a young in-service officer with a bright future in policing who had represented police at the highest levels in sport.
"But through foolish and reckless behaviour he has not only ruined his career but has put himself and the public at risk.
"Police officers who take drugs that are not prescribed by a doctor, or are not lawful, have no place in policing."
According to the NHS, most professional sports and organisations ban anabolic steroid use and test competitors for prohibited steroids.
Anabolic steroids can be used as performance-enhancing drugs that increase muscle mass and decrease fat, as well as causing many undesirable effects.
Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Council leaders weigh up legal challenges to migrant hotels after Epping ruling
Councils across England are considering launching their own legal actions after a district council in Essex secured a High Court victory temporarily blocking asylum seekers from being housed in a hotel in the area. Conservative-run Broxbourne Council in Hertfordshire said it was taking legal advice 'as a matter of urgency' about whether it could take similar action to Epping Forest District Council, which is also run by the Tories. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage indicated the 12 councils where Reform UK was the largest party would consider legal challenges following Tuesday's ruling. Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Mr Farage said the local authorities would do 'everything in their power to follow Epping's lead'. On Tuesday, a High Court judge ruled the former Bell Hotel in Epping must stop housing asylum seekers by September 12. Mr Farage added: 'The good people of Epping must inspire similar protests around Britain. Wherever people are concerned about the threat posed by young undocumented males living in local hotels and who are free to walk their streets, they should follow the example of the town in Essex.' The area had seen thousands of people turn out in protest about the housing of migrants in the Bell Hotel. The Home Office had warned the judge that an injunction could 'interfere' with the department's legal obligations, and lawyers representing the hotel's owner argued it would set a 'precedent'. Epping Forest District Council had asked a judge to issue an interim injunction stopping migrants from being accommodated at the Bell Hotel. The hotel has been at the centre of a series of protests in recent weeks after an asylum seeker who was staying there was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl. In a post on Facebook, Broxbourne Council said: 'Broxbourne Council will now take legal advice as a matter of urgency about whether it could take similar action.' Meanwhile, the leader of South Norfolk District Council, which covers the town of Diss where a hotel housing asylum seekers has also been the subject of protests, said the council would not go down the same route. Conservative leader Daniel Elmer said the council was using planning rules to try to ensure it was families being housed in the area rather than single adult males. He said to do so, which would effectively convert the hotels into hostels, should require a change of use. Two men have been arrested and charged in connection with a protest in July outside the hotel in Diss, which houses more than 40 children. Cllr Elmer told the PA news agency: 'We make a big play about integration, and to replace families who have children in the local school system and have integrated into the local community would make no sense.' He added: 'If we can punish people who have put up sheds in their gardens without permission, then we can take action against hotels being converted into hostels without planning consent.' Border security minister Dame Angela Eagle said the Government will 'continue working with local authorities and communities to address legitimate concerns'. She added: 'Our work continues to close all asylum hotels by the end of this Parliament.' Lawyers for the Home Office had warned the court that an injunction 'runs the risk of acting as an impetus for further violent protests'. Edward Brown KC also said the injunction would 'substantially interfere' with the Home Office's statutory duty in potentially avoiding a breach of the asylum seekers' human rights. Several protests and counter-protests have been held in Epping since a then-resident at the hotel was accused of trying to kiss a teenage girl. Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu has denied the charges against him and is due to stand trial later this month. A second man who resides at the hotel, Syrian national Mohammed Sharwarq, has separately been charged with seven offences, while several other men have been charged over disorder outside the hotel. In a ruling on Tuesday, Mr Justice Eyre granted the temporary injunction, but extended the time limit by which the hotel must stop housing asylum seekers to September 12. He also refused to give Somani Hotels Limited, the hotel's owner, the green light to challenge his ruling, but the company could still ask the Court of Appeal for the go-ahead to appeal against the judgment.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Kneecap rapper to appear in court for alleged support of terrorist group
A member of rap group Kneecap is due to appear in court for allegedly supporting a proscribed terror organisation. Liam Og O hAnnaidh, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, is accused of displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah at a gig in November last year. Demonstrations in support of the rapper have been organised outside Westminster Magistrates' Court in London where he is due to appear on Wednesday, as well as in Dublin. The Metropolitan Police has imposed conditions limiting where the demonstration outside the court can take place on Wednesday, saying they were needed to 'prevent serious disruption'. In response the rap group described this move as a 'calculated political decision' that was 'designed to try and portray support for Kneecap as somehow troublesome' and 'asked supporters to go out of your way to be compliant with all instructions issued, irrespective of how pitiful'. O hAnnaidh received a rockstar welcome when he appeared at the same court in June, supported by fellow bandmates Naoise O Caireallain and J J O Dochartaigh. He was greeted by a festival-like atmosphere for his first court appearance, with dozens of fans waving flags, playing drums and one supporter setting off a smoke canister. The court previously heard the 27-year-old defendant is 'well within his rights' to voice his opinions on the Israel-Palestine conflict, but the alleged incident at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, north London, was a 'wholly different thing'. O hAnnaidh is yet to enter a plea to the charge.
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Face-recognition tech will be used without bias at festival, Met boss says
The facial recognition technology deployed at this year's Notting Hill Carnival has "significantly improved" from previous years and will be used without bias, the Metropolitan Police has said. Met Police chief Sir Mark Rowley said the live facial recognition (LFR) technology will help locate any dangerous individuals attending the carnival over the August bank holiday weekend. He was responding to concerns raised by 11 groups, who in a letter to the commissioner claimed the technology was a "mass surveillance tool that treats all carnival-goers as potential suspects" and has "no place at one of London's biggest cultural celebrations". It also said that LFR technology was "less accurate for women and people of colour" in certain settings. Sir Mark said that when the technology was used at the carnival in 2016 and 2017, it "did not build public confidence", but has since "significantly improved" and now performs to a "much higher standard". He added that the force has selected the algorithm it uses "with care" and knows how to use it in a non-discriminatory way. The letter, signed by groups including Liberty and Big Brother Watch, said there is "no clear legal basis" for Scotland Yard's use of LFR. The letter added: "Notting Hill Carnival is an event that specifically celebrates the British African Caribbean community, yet the MPS (Metropolitan Police Service) is choosing to use a technology with a well-documented history of inaccurate outcomes and racial bias." Rebecca Vincent, interim director at Big Brother Watch, said she is "deeply disappointed" that the Met "has chosen to dig its heels in" after the call to scrap the "Orwellian" technology. She added: "We all want criminals off the streets, but turning (the) carnival into a mass police line-up is not the way to do it." Around 7,000 police officers and staff will be on duty each day throughout the weekend. Police will use LFR cameras to identify individuals listed as wanted in the national police database. Meanwhile, a UK retail facial recognition system has reported its highest-ever monthly total of suspect alerts, its operators say. Read more: Facewatch said in July 2025, it sent 43,602 alerts to subscriber retail stores - the equivalent of more than 10,000 suspects flagged every week for the first time. The figures also represent a 134.8% increase compared to July 2024. Facewatch reported a total of 407,771 alerts over the 12 months leading up to 31 July, with current live data indicating that the upward trend is continuing into August.
