Met officer faked identity to hide secret family, BBC presenter claimed

Telegraph

15-05-2025

A TV presenter has claimed a police officer used a false identity to begin a relationship with her and hide the fact he secretly had another family.
Jackie Adedeji, 31, also alleges that after she made a complaint against the man the detective assigned to investigate made inappropriate comments towards her.
Adedeji, who presents episodes of investigative TV show Untold and appeared on BBC3, told Channel 4 News that she raised a historical allegation of sexual misconduct in 2023.
She made the complaint against a then serving Metropolitan Police officer who was more than 15 years her senior, whom she met while he was on duty in east London.
Adedeji alleges the officer initiated a sexual relationship, including during work hours, and used a false identity throughout their years-long relationship.
She claimed he used the alias to hide from her that he already had a family.
The officer, who worked for City of London Police after leaving the Met, was arrested in February 2024 on suspicion of misconduct in public office, Channel 4 News reports.
Adedeji claims that when a detective was assigned to investigate her complaint, he made inappropriate comments to her throughout the process, including commenting on her appearance and joking about how the case brought them together.
Ms Adedeji said: 'These experiences have left me completely disillusioned.
'How can women feel safe coming forward when they're retraumatised by the very system that's meant to protect them?'
She said City of London Police told her last year her case had been referred to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) but was later told by the CPS that they had not received the file.
Claire Waxman, the Victims Commissioner for London, has since written to Pete O'Doherty, City of London Police Commissioner, to raise concerns about the investigation.
Ms Waxman wrote: 'It's really important that those actually looking into the behaviour have not been accused themselves and have not been subject to allegations.'
Diana Johnson, the policing minister, said: 'I can't comment on the individual case but it concerns me greatly that we have this culture in policing.'
'Held to account'
A Met spokesman said: 'While the vast majority of our officers work every day with professionalism and integrity to keep London safe, it is right they are asked to uphold the highest of standards and are held to account when they fail to do so.
'The Government's new vetting regulations close a gap in the law and allow us to ensure only officers who maintain a suitable standard of clearance throughout their career can police the streets of London.'
A City of London Police spokesman said: 'Last year, a criminal investigation began following the arrest of an officer for misconduct in a public office.
'A separate complaint against the same officer was also investigated under police conduct regulations, resulting in him being found guilty of gross misconduct. He is no longer a serving officer.
'We cannot disclose details of the criminal investigation that may prejudice the case but accept the victim's complaints and fully recognise the importance of trust and confidence in how our investigations are carried out.
'We referred all of the victims' concerns to the Independent Office for Police Conduct for consideration, and after receiving their advice it should continue to be investigated locally, we have listened to the concerns raised and passed the complaint to a separate force [British Transport Police] for independent review.'