Police officer calls for independent investigation into the Police Federation of England & Wales over victimisation of members and failure to reform

Lee Broadbent, a constable with Greater Manchester Police, wants the Home Secretary to commission an independent investigation into the tribunal’s findings and the PFEW’s failure to implement reforms it agreed to in 2014.

The Police Federation represents over 100,000 police officers and is the only staff association that officers are permitted to join. It negotiates with the Home Secretary on behalf of officers in relation to pay and working conditions.

The Normington review was commissioned in 2013 following a string of controversies involving the PFEW, including its conduct and concerns over its financial transparency.

In 2014 the PFEW accepted the review’s findings and committed to implementing all 36 of its recommendations. However, the recent Tribunal judgment against the PFEW has highlighted areas in which the PFEW continue to fall significantly short of its obligations towards members. The PFEW’s CEO Mukund Krishna admitted in his 2023 PFEW conference speech that implementation of the recommendations had not gone far enough.

PC Broadbent is represented by the law firm Leigh Day’s employment partner Kiran Daurka who is acting on behalf of approximately 10,000 clients to obtain compensation from the Police Federation of England & Wales for injury to feelings and the reimbursement of legal fees paid by officers involved in the police pensions claims.

The claims against the PFEW were won last year with compensation to be decided by the Employment Tribunal later this year. Similar claims against the Scottish Police Federation have been put on hold while a judgment was made in relation to the PFEW claims.

PC Lee Broadbent said:

“In the absence of a trade union, police officers need a highly effective representative organisation to be their safeguard and voice to government and senior officers. Many officers, like me, are concerned that PFEW does not offer such representation and the recent tribunal judgment supports this view. The judgment and subsequent actions of the PFEW are, in my view, in breach of some or all of the duties that Parliament imposed on it. I therefore ask all police officers to support my calls for a public inquiry or externally led review of the Police Federation of England and Wales and petition the Home Secretary accordingly.”

Leigh Day employment partner Kiran Daurka said:

“Following the excoriating verdict of the employment tribunal we support our client's calls for an independent inquiry into the Police Federation of England and Wales. The judgment was an overwhelming victory for almost 10,000 police officers for whom we had brought a pensions challenge and is a damning indictment of the conduct of the PFEW over many years. Our client believes the organisation needs to be fully investigated and held to account for its conduct and we ask the Home Secretary to respond to his concerns and hold an inquiry.”