A former Greater Manchester Police (GMP) officer, Tariq Butt, will be barred from policing after it was revealed he took up a job at the Qatar 2022 World Cup while claiming to be on a career break. Following an investigation led by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) and conducted by GMP’s Anti-Corruption Unit, gross misconduct was found against Butt, a former Inspector.
The disciplinary panel, chaired by a legally qualified chair, ruled that Butt would have been dismissed from the force had he not already resigned. The three-day hearing, which concluded on Thursday, 19 September 2024, found that Butt had breached standards of behaviour related to discreditable conduct, confidentiality, honesty and integrity, as well as orders and instructions. He will now be placed on the police barred list, preventing him from working in law enforcement again.
The investigation revealed that in June 2020, Butt applied for a career break from GMP, citing childcare reasons and a desire to travel. However, it was uncovered that Butt had already received an offer to work for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Safety & Security Operations Committee. He failed to inform GMP of this offer and, in September 2020, began working in Qatar.
The investigation also found that in January 2021, Butt accessed restricted documents related to police deployments at major sporting and music events during a visit to Astley Bridge Police Station. He attempted to download these documents but ultimately emailed them to his personal account.
In a further breach, Butt misrepresented his financial circumstances to the Child Maintenance Service in March 2021, claiming that his situation had not changed and that he was entitled to a ‘nil assessment’. He failed to declare payments he had received from his Qatari employment to both GMP and the Child Maintenance Service.
Steve Noonan, Director of Operations at the IOPC, condemned Butt’s actions: “Former Inspector Butt has shown a complete disregard for the rules and acted dishonestly for his own personal gain. He let down his colleagues and risked seriously undermining public confidence.”
Noonan stressed the importance of upholding police standards, especially regarding secondary employment: “To prevent conflicts of interest, police officers are subject to additional restrictions, needing permission before undertaking paid employment. Knowing this, Inspector Butt flouted the rules.”
The IOPC investigation, which began in September 2021 and concluded in May 2022, was followed by a review by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). However, the CPS confirmed in October 2022 that it would not pursue criminal charges against Butt.
Today’s ruling reinforces the commitment to upholding integrity in the police force, sending a clear message that such behaviour will not be tolerated.
