A LEADING cybercrime specialist was inline for a national role when his suspension for inappropriate behaviour at a conference derailed the move.

Detective Inspector John Stansmore, of Cleveland Police, is accused of treating the two-day conference in Cardiff as a ‘jolly’ and an excuse to get drunk.

The second day of the senior officer’s disciplinary hearing heard two different sides to his behaviour.

Detective Chief Superintendent Andrew Gould, the head of the national cybercrime programme, told the hearing how he had experienced no problems with DI Stansmore and said he was disappointed that he was unable to take up the national role due to his suspension.

However, Claire Vandenbroecke, who works for Northumbria Police’s cybersecurity team, told the panel how DI Stansmore had a reputation for heavy drinking and failing to attend conferences on time.

It’s alleged that DI Stansmore breached professional standards by his ‘deplorable’ behaviour which the force says constitutes gross misconduct.

Gerry Boyle, representing Cleveland Police, had told the panel that the officer, who had been posted to the North East Regional Specialist Operations Unit (NERSOU), had been served a notice of investigation following the conference on September 10 and 11, 2019.

Miss Vandenbroecke said the officer was talking about heading to the pub on the way to conference and told the she had received a personal Whatsapp message from the DI Stansmore in the early hours of the morning but she put it down to ‘him having a bit too much to drink’.

“I just chose to ignore the text due to the hour it was sent,” she said.

“I put it down to him having too much to drink, so I ignored it and thought that by ignoring him it would not encourage him to send messages to my personal Whatsapp.

“He sent a further Whatsapp message to my personal number about him having a bad head.”

The hearing then went into closed session while Miss Vandenbroecke continued to give evidence.

Earlier, the panel had heard how it was not unusual for people attending conferences to socialise with each other in the pub and Det Ch Supt Gould said he could see nothing wrong with officers drinking when they were off duty and not working.

The senior officer also praised DI Stansmore’s work ethic and capabilities.

He said: “John is very professional , dedicated and experienced in this area and would have been a valuable asset in the national programme.”

He added: “It has been disappointing, we would have had another capable, experienced officer at that level and there is a number of projects we could have progressed but I haven’t been able to.”

Mr Doyle had told a police disciplinary hearing in Hartlepool, he then contacted a senior officer who was investigating his behaviour at the National Cyber Protect Conference and tried to ‘belittle the complaint against him’ and find out who had been the whistle-blower.

The disciplinary hearing continues.