Met Police Officers Issued Final Written Warnings After One Showed Photo of Dead Man at Training Session
PC Billy Manning found with photo of deceased resident at care home on phone and shared it with colleagues; force apologises for officers' actions
Quick Look
- Two Metropolitan Police officers have been given final written warnings after one was found to have kept a photo of a dead man on his phone and showed it to colleagues at a training session.
- PC Billy Manning and PC Frankie Jordan stored images of evidence on personal devices despite force guidelines prohibiting the practice.
- Manning also created a WhatsApp group containing sexist, homophobic, ableist and transphobic content.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
The case revealed confused and conflicting guidelines within the Met over whether officers could use personal phones for work purposes. The hearing was told that even senior leadership had interpreted the guidelines differently.
Officers told an internal Scotland Yard investigation that they routinely used their own phones, and sent images via WhatsApp, because police-issued devices were not good enough to take quality photographs. PC Billy Manning was found to have kept a picture of a dead man on his phone, which he later showed colleagues at a training session, the hearing was told. The Met issued a written warning to Manning and to another officer, PC Frankie Jordan, who also kept photos of evidence on his phone, and apologised to anyone affected by the officers' actions.
The misconduct hearing heard that Manning was sent to an assisted residence for elderly people in Dalston, east London, where he and other officers discovered a resident who had died "some days or weeks earlier". PC Zak Malik took photos of the dead man on his personal phone and sent them to Manning on WhatsApp. Malik sent the images so he could reduce the file size and upload them to the Met's system, the hearing was told. When Malik realised the photo was still on WhatsApp and warned Manning, he replied with three laughing face emojis.
At a training course at a Shoreditch police station the following year, Manning was discussing "difficult situations" with fellow officers and decided to show them the photo of the dead man, saying: "I've been to a bad one, I will show you the picture." Manning was then arrested and his mobile was seized. Other pictures were found relating to victims, suspects and evidence. He claimed what he did was "common practice". It was also discovered that he was the creator of a WhatsApp group called "Away Days" containing sexist, homophobic, ableist and transphobic content.
Jordan, who also appeared at the misconduct hearing, was found with photos of evidence on his phone. He said he "did not believe that he had done anything wrong" as officers "routinely took photos of evidence on their personal mobile phones". The misconduct panel heard evidence of "confused and conflicting guidelines" over whether Met officers could use their phones for work. Even the Met's senior leadership team had interpreted the guidelines differently.
Following the hearing, held between November 2025 and February 2026, Manning was handed a final written warning for a period of two years and Jordan received a final warning for three years. No criminal charges were pursued. A Met spokesperson said: "The actions of PC Manning and PC Jordan were highly inappropriate and fell below the standards expected of them as an officer… We would like to apologise to those affected by the officers' actions and for any distress caused."
Open Questions
- How many other officers may have been using personal phones inappropriately?
- What specific reforms to phone usage guidelines will the Met implement?
- Were any criminal charges considered and why were they not pursued?
