Ex-BTP Officer Booted Over Dodgy Meal Claims
A former British Transport Police detective has been formally sacked following a public misconduct hearing at BTP HQ in Camden on 20 May 2024.
Edward Sheehan Caught Out
Detective Constable Edward Sheehan, who operated in London, quit before the hearing and skipped the firing squad as allegations against him surfaced. He was accused of breaching key professional standards—namely “Honesty and Integrity” and “Duties and Responsibilities.”
Feeding the Fraud: 21 Dodgy Claims
Sheehan allegedly submitted 21 meal expense claims across 20 separate occasions between 19 August and 29 November 2022. This broke force expense rules since he wasn’t prevented from arranging his own meals during duty and was not even operationally deployed. In fact, he should have been working from home.
Gross Misconduct Leads to Dismissal
An independent panel ruled his conduct amounted to gross misconduct. They confirmed that if Sheehan hadn’t already resigned, he would have been axed immediately.
“Sheehan blatantly exploited the policy for his own gain, making claims for food and shopping at the maximum amount when he was not operationally deployed,” said Detective Superintendent Peter Fulton, head of BTP’s Professional Standards Department.
“He was fully aware of the expenses policy, and there was a clear dishonesty and lack of integrity in his actions which would have led to his dismissal had he not already left the force.”
