Woman ‘groomed’ by Met officer ‘completely condemns’ misconduct course of

A woman who waited five years for a gross misconduct hearing after being ‘groomed’ by a Met Police officer who worked in the same unit as Wayne Couzens has told MailOnline she ‘totally condemns’ the misconduct process. 

Former PC Phil Hunter, 60, was today found to have committed gross misconduct after pursuing inappropriate relationships with two vulnerable women who he met during welfare checks.

He resigned before he could ever be fired and today the second woman said her long fight for justice did her more harm than he ever did. 

He previously worked in the Diplomatic Protection unit, the same unit where murderer Wayne Couzens and serial rapist David Carrick were also employed. 

Hunter had sex with the first woman, who he met when she was suicidal, and sent her an explicit photograph days after she threatened to hang herself – before asking her for a naked picture. The panel heard she tried to kill herself as a result of Hunter’s actions.

The second woman, who MailOnline interviewed under the pseudonym Lorraine, was also highly vulnerable when he gave her his personal phone number and pursued an inappropriate relationship the panel ruled was for sexual gain.

Having had to wait five years since she first reported her concerns to a senior officer – around 1,800 days – Lorraine has now told MailOnline the process was more damaging than Hunter’s actions themselves.

Lorraine said she ‘totally condemns’ the police misconduct process and was left upset after the hearing panel refused to watch her video interview to ascertain the harm the ex PC’s actions had on her.

In a letter to the panel, shared with MailOnline, Lorraine wrote: ‘I appreciate the panel’s findings but condemn the process that didn’t allow my words to be heard on the day. 

‘I know that you (the panel) had been provided with all the facts and they obviously spoke for themselves, but it was important for me, as the victim of this predator, to be heard and for you to understand the impact both at the time and now, that his behaviour has had on me.’

She added: ‘On reflection I want to totally condemn a process that has taken this long and at times treated me worse that FPC Hunter ever did.’

Lorraine accused the Met of accessing her personal health records without her permission, which she believes was ‘a concerted effort to make my allegations disappear’.

MailOnline previously reported how the Met initially refused to hold a hearing for Lorraine’s claims, but the IOPC later ruled they had broken policing guidance, which states all cases of potential gross misconduct must be put before a panel. 

Lorraine added: ‘So many times, I have thought I couldn’t proceed with this constant battle.

‘I am glad that this is over, but my thoughts today are with other women who couldn’t face what I have faced in the last five years. 

‘I only made it through thanks to the support of my friends, other women, the media, the IOPC and lastly Baroness Casey who has supported me when so many others did not.’

Ex-soldier Hunter resigned from the force prior to a misconduct hearing in 2020 when a panel found he had slept with the first woman.

Eight days after meeting her, he was called out to another welfare check which he used to give a second woman his personal phone number, called her a ‘lovely lady’ and invited her out for coffee and to call him ‘any time’, the hearing was told.

‘He preyed on my vulnerabilities and controlled me whilst wielding his warrant card,’ Lorraine said. 

The hearing heard Hunter was had inappropriate communications with Lorraine with the express purpose of ‘forming a sexual relationship with her or to have inappropriate sexual contact with her.’

Thom Dyke, for the Met, told the panel the pair had exchanged text messages and emails that were ‘wholly inappropriate’, especially given her ‘vulnerable’ state.

Barrister Dyke said his previous relationship with X ‘shows a pattern of predatory sexual behaviour towards vulnerable members of the public.’

The panel was told it was important to have the second gross misconduct hearing so that if found to be in breach of his obligations, Hunter will not be able to reapply to be a police officer in the future.

He added Hunter’s behaviour was ‘deliberate and pre-meditated’ and that he had ‘abused [his] position for sexual purpose’. 

He said the bundle of evidence contained more than 70 pages of messages between the pair, which were sent between August 2017 and summer 2019.

Mr Dyke read out some of the messages Y sent to Hunter to highlight her level of vulnerability.

In one message Y told Hunter ‘it doesn’t matter anymore’ and added she had stopped eating and sleeping.

Another saw her tell him: ‘I’m not doing well… not sleeping at the moment and cried constantly since [last week]’.

She also described herself as ‘stressed’ and ‘upset’.

In one message she asked him: ‘Will someone help me now? I’m so upset today.’

Mr Dyke said Hunter had failed his duty of care to Y and instead repeatedly flirted with her and encouraged her to see him as her only confidant.    

Other messages seen by MailOnline include one exchange in which Hunter told her: ‘I have to behave. I’ll keep you smiling,’ adding: ‘You have a lovely smile.’

Lorraine replied: ‘How would you know that? Not sure you would recognise me if you feel over me in the street.’

Hunter said: ‘Want a bet on that? Tall and extremely beautiful.’

Shortly after, Hunter wrote: ‘I’ll stop now as my texts could be read wrongly. You are a beautiful person.’

But then he wrote: ‘Are you in bed yet?’

He later said: ‘Just on 3% and you can be as naughty as you like with me.’

Hunter, who was able to leave the force and be hired as a black cab driver after the first hearing was held in private, chose not to attend the hearing or send anyone to represent him.

After Lorraine came forward with further allegations, Hunter was fired from his taxi cab role. 

Barrister Dyke told the hearing: ‘From at least the middle of 2017 up until the point he tended his resignation he was engaged in a pattern of sexually predatory behaviour targeting two vulnerable female members of the public with whom he had contact with during his duties.

‘The first of those incidents has already been the subject of misconduct proceedings and relates to X and started on 14 August 2017.

‘He was tasked with attending her home address to conduct a welfare check but used that encounter to initiate a sexual relationship with X and as a result she made attempts to take her own life.

‘He tendered his resignation prior to proceedings and left the police as of July 2019.

‘The misconduct hearing took place just under a year later in June 2020 when the allegations made by X were found to be proven and the decision of that panel were that if Hunter were still employed he would have been dismissed and he was placed on the barred list.’

Turning to Lorraine, the barrister said she had told Hunter she had been referred to mental health services.

Some messages sought to isolate Y from her friends and family, the tribunal heard, before persuading her to submit a witness statement in his favour ahead of the 2020 misconduct hearing.

Mr Dyke said: ‘However the position changed in June 2020.

‘She explained how she had come to realise that Hunter’s behaviour had been wholly inappropriate, controlling and coercive towards her.

‘A further statement was then provided which sets out the reasons for her vulnerability specifically during that period together with the persistent predatory behaviour of Hunter including his attempts to isolate her from her friends and family.’

In a statement Hunter ‘flatly’ denied any wrongdoing and said the contact he had with Y was ‘nothing more than supportive or friendly communication.’

The 2020 hearing heard Hunter sent X a sexually explicit image just a week after she threatened to hang herself, before asking her to send him a naked picture.

She refused, but the couple had regular sex in her home after his shifts. She was left so traumatised by the relationship that she tried to kill herself multiple times.

The three-person panel, led by Dale Simon, found Hunter had committed gross misconduct that was so serious, had he still been serving he would have been dismissed without notice.