Corrupt police employee jailed after illegally accessing sensitive information before tipping off criminal friend
A corrupt police employee, who illegally accessed sensitive information to tip off a criminal friend about a secret investigation into serious crime, has been jailed.
Natalie Mottram, from Warrington in Cheshire, was working as an intelligence analyst when she was caught in an undercover sting operation to trap whoever was leaking secrets to criminals.
The 25-year-old was with the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit (ROCU) when she was arrested by National Crime Agency (NCA) officers on 12 June 2020.
She was held as part of Operation Venetic – the NCA-led UK response to the takedown of the encrypted communications platform EncroChat, used by gangsters and serious criminals across Europe to avoid detection.
But soon after Operation Venetic began, investigators found there had been a leak, the NCA said.
Mottram, whose job involved making threat assessments of organised crime gangs, told Jonathan Kay, 39, about the covert EncroChat operation, and that officers had intelligence on him.
On 24 April 2020, a friend of Kay, who cannot be named for legal reasons, messaged another EncroChat user to say he had learned that day about law enforcement infiltrating the platform.
And he messaged a second contact: “I no (sic) a lady who works for the police. This is not hearsay. Direct to me. They can access Encro software.”
Mottram was put under surveillance
By 12 June 2020, NCA investigators suspected Mottram was behind the leak, placing her under surveillance.
The same day, she was asked by her bosses to analyse an intelligence log referring to Kay, who was the partner of Mottram’s friend, 38-year-old Leah Bennett.
But the log was bogus.
Mottram tipped of criminal Jonathan Kay
Mottram, of Great Sankey, Warrington, left work that afternoon and drove to Kay and Bennett’s house in Great Sankey, Warrington.
After meeting Kay and Bennett at their property, the prosecution said this was when Mottram corruptly informed them about the intelligence log concerning Kay.
Telecomms data also shows the same evening Bennett’s phone contacted a phone belonging to the partner of the man who cannot be named, arranging a meeting in a supermarket car park.
Four arrests
Mottram, Kay, Bennett and the man were all arrested later that day and £200,000 in cash was recovered from Kay and Bennett’s house.
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Mottram, who started her career as an apprentice at Cheshire Police in 2017, admitted misconduct in public office, perverting the course of justice and unauthorised access to computer material. She was jailed for three years and nine months at Liverpool Crown Court.
Kay admitted perverting the course of justice at an earlier hearing. He was sentenced to two years and six months in jail.
A charge of perverting the course of justice against Bennett was dropped by prosecutors.
Operation Venetic successes
John McKeon, head of the NCA’s anti-corruption unit, said of Operation Venetic: “More than 1,240 offenders have been convicted, more than 173 firearms recovered and more than nine tonnes of heroin and cocaine seized. More than 200 threats to life were averted.
“But Mottram’s actions had the potential to derail all that.”
Assistant Chief Constable Jo Edwards, head of the North West ROCU, said: “The overwhelming majority of people who work in policing do so to protect the public from harm, and they devote years of service to that end.
“Sadly, the actions of Natalie Mottram undermine the good work that is being done daily by her colleagues here at the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit.”
The King has met survivors of last month’s Huntingdon train mass stabbing, during a special reception at Buckingham Palace.
He shook hands with train guard Samir Zitouni, who was seriously injured as he stepped in to protect passengers.
More than 10 people were hurt in the stabbing on the 6.25pm LNER service from Doncaster to London King’s Cross on 1 November, which diverted to Huntingdon.
The King greets the train’s driver, Andrew Johnson. Pic: PA
The monarch also met Andrew Johnson, who previously served in the Royal Navy, and was driving the service at the time of the attack.
He was praised by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer for his quick thinking when he moved the train on to a slow line.
That decision allowed it to stop at Huntingdon station, leading to a quicker response time by emergency services and potentially saving lives.
Mr Zitouni was credited with saving multiple lives, but was left in a critical condition due to injuries he suffered in the attack.
Stephen Crean, a football fan who had been returning home after watching Nottingham Forest’s 2-2 draw with Manchester United, was also injured while fighting back to protect others during the incident.
Mr Crean said he would need plastic surgery following his injuries.
The monarch greets Stephen Crean and his wife Monludee Crean during the reception. Pic: PA
Amira Ostalski, a student who suddenly found herself in danger, said she ran into the buffet car where she picked up a metal tray to protect herself and her friend.
“I was honestly so petrified. I thought in that moment it was the last time I was ever going to be alive. I thought I was going to die,” she said.
Anthony Williams was charged with 10 counts of attempted murder, one count of actual bodily harm and one count of possession of a bladed article following the train attack.
He remains in custody pending further court hearings scheduled for next year.
A nine-year-old girl found dead in Weston-super-Mare has been named on the day police revealed a teenager had been charged with her murder.
Emergency services were called to Lime Close in the Somerset town at 6.09pm on Monday but Aria Thorpe was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police said a 15-year-old boy had been charged with her murder and that a preliminary post-mortem found she died from a single stab wound.
The teenage boy – who can’t be named due to his age – will appear at Bristol Magistrates’ Court later today.
A police cordon remains in place as forensics officers continue their work.
Flowers and tributes have been left at the scene. Pic: PA
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Superintendent Jen Appleford, from Avon and Somerset Police, said the community was in shock and Aria’s family were being supported by police.
“It is impossible to adequately describe how traumatic the past 36 hours have been for them and we’d like to reiterate in the strongest possible terms their request for privacy,” she said.
Supt Appleford said police were working with local schools and other agencies to make sure support is available.
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