A serving Met Police officer has avoided jail after admitting to leaking confidential information to journalist Rebecca Tidy and a former police whistleblower in an effort to expose racism within the force.

PC Matthew Olive Admits Misconduct

PC Matthew Olive, 26, appeared at Southwark Crown Court, where he admitted four counts of misconduct in public office. The court heard that Olive conducted unauthorised searches on police systems, including COPA (Case Overview and Preparation Application) and FIMS (Forensic Imagery Management System), and passed information to freelance journalist Rebecca Tidy and former officer Faye Osmund-Smith.

The leaked material included CCTV stills, suspect briefings, and case data — some of which appeared on social media via the anonymous @DCEA2000 account, which Olive admitted to running.

Whistleblower’s Justification: Discrimination and Homophobia

In a statement, Olive said he had acted out of a desire to “highlight discrimination of ethnic minorities by police officers”, and cited his own experiences of homophobic bullying by colleagues. His collaboration with Ms Tidy and Ms Osmund-Smith, he claimed, was an act of conscience.

How the Information Was Shared

Prosecutor Dickon Reid detailed how Olive misused both FIMS — used to circulate footage of unidentified suspects — and COPA, the internal case prep system. He shared a series of briefings and images with Tidy and Osmund-Smith via WhatsApp throughout 2023.

• On 24 May 2023, Olive accessed confidential details regarding a suspect named Jayden Chirewa and passed them to Tidy, who was reportedly researching a case involving an arrest with no public record.

• On 21 June, he again accessed FIMS and shared suspect information with Osmund-Smith, despite her no longer being a serving officer.

At one point, Olive told Tidy via WhatsApp that to access the files he had to be “very sly”, and even offered to “take pictures or pass on info” from the Police National Computer (PNC) simply because he was “bored and wanted to cause mischief.”

Social Media and the Anonymous Account

The officer’s anonymous @DCEA2000 account, active on X (formerly Twitter), was flagged by other users for leaking internal police content, much of which was shared with journalists. Tidy’s own account had also previously posted images believed to have originated from the Met’s intranet.

These activities prompted the internal investigation that led to Olive’s arrest on 14 September 2023. Forensic analysis of his phone revealed hundreds of messages exchanged with Tidy and Osmund-Smith, confirming the unauthorized data flow.

Court Outcome

Despite the serious nature of the offences, Olive walked free from court, with the judge taking into account his motivations, lack of personal gain, and his experiences of internal bullying. He was not sentenced to a custodial term.

Reaction and Context

The case has drawn mixed reactions online. Some have praised Olive’s whistleblowing efforts to expose institutional racism, while others have raised concerns about data protection and public trust in the police. The incident highlights the tension between journalistic transparency and operational security within UK law enforcement.

Neither Tidy nor Osmund-Smith has been charged.