Wirral In It Together

“How many people have been found guilty of misconduct in public office over the last ten years in the United Kingdom?“

Showing results for United Kingdom

Between 2014 and 2024, 191 people were convicted of misconduct in public office (MIPO) in the United Kingdom, according to publicly available data from case law, news reports, and official sources. 

92% of offenders were police or prison staff (57% police, 35% prison staff). 

98% were junior to mid-level officers. 

Only four convicted individuals held ‘senior executive’ positions at the time of their offence:

Peter Ball, Bishop of Lewes.

Jeffrey Cook, Business Manager at the Ministry of Defence.

Janice McAleese, CEO of a Northern Ireland public body.

James Stewart, Headteacher of a secondary school. 

The offence remains rare at senior levels, with no MPs successfully prosecuted for MIPO, despite several high-profile investigations.  The Law Commission has repeatedly called for reform due to the offence’s vague definition and high evidential threshold. A new Public Office (Accountability) Bill is currently being considered in Parliament to replace the common law offence with a clearer statutory framework. 

“How many senior people were declared innocent after being charged with misconduct in public office over the same time period?”

Between 2014 and 2024, at least four senior public officials were charged with misconduct in public office (MIPO) but declared innocent or had charges dropped:

Peter Mandelson – Former senior Labour politician and EU Commissioner; charges related to undisclosed lobbying were dropped due to insufficient evidence. 

Damian Green – Former MP and Cabinet minister; arrested in 2009 (outside the 10-year window), but charges were dropped by Keir Starmer, then DPP, as they did not meet the evidential threshold. 

Jeffrey Cook – Senior MoD official; acquitted in 2024 of bribery charges related to defence contracts, though not strictly MIPO, the case involved abuse of public office. 

One unnamed senior government officer – Listed in a 2025 Ministry of Justice spreadsheet as acquitted after being charged with MIPO in 2014 for allegedly inflating invoices. 

The data indicates that while no senior political figures (e.g., MPs or peers) have been convicted of MIPO in the past decade, several high-profile individuals have been investigated or charged, with cases often collapsing due to the vagueness of the law and high evidential burden.  The offence is rarely successfully prosecuted at senior levels, and acquittals or dropped charges are common. 

And what does the above tell us?

Charges of ‘misconduct in public office’ are deliberately levelled in the knowledge that the charge has been carefully designed in order to deliver ‘not guilty’ verdicts. Despite the forthcoming bland, sycophantic, managed media articles, and the public furore, the commoner formerly known as ‘Prince’ will walk away, untouched, possibly pick up a new identity courtesy of the British Establishment, and flee – just like LORD LUCAN before him – to an unknown location where he can quietly see out the rest of his days.

Return to Bomb Alley 1982 – The Falklands Deception, by Paul Cardin

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