PC’s appeal hearing was invalid and will be resat

Tuesday 2nd June 2009, 2:30PM BST.

Deputy Home minister Francis Quin, left, Deputy Jenny Tasker and non-States member Andrew Ozanne, right, were on the lay appeal panel for PC Stuart Allan’s disciplinary hearing. (0773038)

A POLICE officer convicted of assault could still lose his job following an error in the set-up of the disciplinary hearing that reinstated him.

The Home Department has admitted that the appeal hearing was not lawful and will have to be reconvened.

But as two of the three original deputies will have to sit again, PC Stuart Allan is likely to stay on the force regardless.

The appeal panel was declared invalid as it required three voting States members – and it only had two.

HM Comptroller told Home minister Geoff Mahy that the appeals panel should sit again, replacing non-States member Andrew Ozanne with a deputy from the board.

Deputy Mahy took full responsibility for the mistake and apologised to ‘the States, the police, interested parties and the public’.