A third man, who was found guilty of “inappropriate touching”, would also have been sacked had he not retired from Gwent Police shortly before the end of the disciplinary hearing. Details of the allegations against Ch Supt Marc Budden, Ch Insp Paul Staniforth and Mark Warrender, who has just retired from his role as chief inspector, are scant due to a controversial decision to hold the hearing in private. An allegation of ‘inappropriate touching’ was proved against Warrender and all three were found to have had an ‘inappropriate conversation with a junior member of police staff at a police social event’ and failed to challenge each other and report it. In addition, Budden was found to have improperly disclosed information about the sensational allegation to the victim and to have provided a dishonest account of his conduct. The matters relate to a community gathering in Cardiff following the departure of Gwent chief constable Julian Williams, who left his role in June 2019. Gwent Police and the three men successfully argued that the hearing should be heard in camera to ensure a complainant’s anonymity is preserved, to protect the right to privacy of officers, witnesses and their families and to encourage others to report alleged wrongdoing in the future. The hearing began in April and concluded on Tuesday with Warrender resigning last Friday, meaning he could not be fired. Gwent Police said: “An independent commission found allegations of professional standards of conduct made against Ch Supt Marc Budden, Ch Insp Paul Staniforth and Mark Warrender, former chief inspector. “The findings mean that the two serving officers will be dismissed and all three will be added to the list of disqualified officers. Mr Warrender retired before the outcome of the hearing, but if he hadn’t, he would also have been sacked.’ Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Deputy Constable Amanda Blakeman said: “This result sends a clear message that this type of behavior will not be tolerated in Gwent Police. The public expects high standards of integrity from us, and where officers abuse their position they will be held accountable. “In the last three years we have thought about behaviors and changed our culture. We have made great strides in strengthening the standards we expect from everyone in our service, regardless of rank. This event was a stark reminder to us that the highest standards of conduct must be held by all, whether in or out of service. “The president’s decision to hold the hearing in private meant that the people in this case felt able to participate in the process. Taking action against senior officers is a huge step for colleagues and we can only applaud the courage of the individuals who came forward and took part in this complex investigation.’
