Publication date:
The Public Prosecution Service (PPS) has taken a decision not to prosecute the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland who was reported for potential offences of perverting the course of justice and misconduct in public office.
After careful consideration of a file submitted following an investigation led by West Midlands Police into alleged actions by the Ombudsman, it was concluded by prosecutors that there was no reasonable prospect of conviction for any criminal offence.
As has been reported publicly, the Ombudsman was investigated in relation to events arising from a reported domestic incident in Holywood, Co Down, in September 2023.
Director of Public Prosecutions Stephen Herron said: “This was a complex and sensitive matter which was given careful consideration by a team of senior prosecutors and highly experienced independent Senior Counsel.
“This case has understandably generated significant public interest and speculation - much of which was factually inaccurate.
“The events of September 2023 that led to this investigation were undoubtedly difficult. The evidence shows that PSNI engaged with the Ombudsman with care and sensitivity, and their investigation was conducted properly and in good faith.
“The central allegation in this case was that the Ombudsman had misconducted herself in public office and / or attempted to pervert the course of justice through her interactions with police who were investigating the incident referred to above.
“The legal threshold for both offences is high. In assessing whether the Test for Prosecution was met, prosecutors considered all of the relevant facts and circumstances including the particular context in which the interactions took place; contemporaneous records made by police in relation to what was said by her; and the evidence from senior police who spoke directly to the Ombudsman during key stages of the relevant events.
“It was concluded that the evidence was insufficient to establish that the Ombudsman was either acting or purporting to act as a public officer at the relevant times; or that she misconducted herself or attempted to pervert the course of justice through anything she said or did in response to police enquiries.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) investigated events arising from a domestic incident in Holywood, Co Down, in September 2023, which resulted in a male receiving a caution for the offence of common assault. The PSNI requested that West Midlands Police lead an investigation into separate allegations against the Ombudsman in relation to her conduct during the early stages of the PSNI investigation.
In September 2024, an initial police file was submitted to the PPS to enable early consideration of the evidence in relation to the Ombudsman. An issue relating to the conclusion of a police interview process was resolved in May 2025. Following this, a full police investigation file was submitted to the PPS on 9th June 2025, reporting the Ombudsman for potential offences of perverting the course of justice and misconduct in public office.
The common law offence of misconduct in public office is defined in the judgement of Pill LJ in Attorney General’s Reference (No. 3 of 2003) [2004] EWCA Crim. 868; [2005] 1QB73 and re-stated by Thomas LCJ in R v. Chapman [2015] 2 Cr. App R161 (10) as being committed where:
(i) a public officer acting as such
(ii) willfully neglects to perform his duty and/or willfully misconducts himself
(iii) to such a degree as to amount to an abuse of the public’s trust in the officeholder; and
(iv) does so without reasonable excuse or justification.
The offence of doing an act tending and intended to pervert the course of public justice requires the suspect:
(i) to do an act or series of acts;
(ii) which has or have a tendency to pervert; and
(iii) which is or are intended to pervert
(iv) the course of public justice.
Approach to decision-making
The PPS take decisions in all cases by independently and impartially applying the Test for Prosecution. It involves two stages:
(i) Consideration of whether the available evidence provides a reasonable prospect of conviction (the Evidential Test for Prosecution); and
(ii) Consideration of whether prosecution is in the public interest (the Public Interest Test). It is only if the Evidential Test is met that the prosecutor proceeds to consider and apply the Public Interest Test.
Media queries for the PPS should be referred to the Communications Unit by emailing ppspressoffice@ppsni.gov.uk inside office hours. The out of hours press officer can be contacted on 07920 271804 or 07795 480234.