‘Sheriff of Soho’: Sacked Met officer Frank Partridge found guilty of taking bribes
A corrupt Metropolitan Police officer known as “the Sheriff of Soho” has been found guilty of taking bribes from a London’s West End nightclub owners and security bosses.
Former sergeant Frank Partridge, 50, was tasked with policing the area’s nightlife but formed inappropriate relationships with a small group of people involved with running its venues.
Southwark Crown Court heard they wanted him “in their pocket” and Partridge was happy to accept gifts including a £7,000 family holiday to Morocco, a bespoke monogrammed £1,350 suit and tickets for his mother-in-law to see heavy metal band Metallica in Milan for her 60th birthday.
He was treated to hotel stays, free hospitality, and meals and drinks in central London’s high-end bars and restaurants while working with the Westminster licensing unit between 2013 and 2015 – and even accepted the services of a sex worker.
Prosecutors suggested Partridge would pull his punches over alleged breaches of licensing rules, including criminal allegations of sexual assault, or help favoured security firms land lucrative contracts.
Partridge pleaded guilty to three counts of bribery and was found guilty of four further counts on Wednesday. He will be sentenced next Tuesday.
The ex-officer, who joined the Metropolitan Police in 1992 and previously worked in the force’s clubs and vice unit, told the jury he accepted gifts from “friends” but insisted: “My work was always impartial.”
He was cleared of one further count of bribery, including allegations he accepted Manchester United tickets and shirts signed by then player Wayne Rooney
Partridge was sacked from the Met following misconduct proceedings in April 2016 for travelling in first-class train carriages, when he was only permitted second-class travel between London and his home in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire.
Partridge was dubbed the ‘Sheriff of Soho’
He knew the West End well, having lived in a section house behind Marylebone Police Station when he joined the force as a beat officer.
As a single young man, he would socialise in Soho’s bars and clubs, where he first met co-defendant Ryan Bishti, 43, the owner of Cirque le Soir nightclub, which is popular with celebrities.
The court heard Bishti laid on hospitality for Partridge at the club, where he was rumoured to have his own table. Bishti also paid for a hotel stay, and arranged Metallica tickets for Partridge, the trial heard.
He also gave him a £200 VIP Wireless Festival ticket and even organised a “special birthday party” for his son, including a magician.
Footage found on Bishti’s mobile phone shows Partridge with a dancer dressed as a cat, who playfully whips the officer, who was later pictured wearing cat ears and a leash.
Following a night out at wine bars and a casino, Bishti was captured “in his shorts, vest and socks” in CCTV footage at his home in Battersea, southwest London, where Partridge was staying before two sex workers were let into the building, jurors were told.
Undercover police sting
Partridge, who also ran a florist with his wife Maura Contardi, an Italian national, was arrested at Scotland Yard later that morning on 24 June 2015 after spending the night at Bishti’s apartment.
It came after a surveillance operation, including bugs and an undercover officer posing as someone wanting to buy a club for a German investor.
Partridge was watched as he spent an hour being fitted for a suit and shirts at a tailor in Clerkenwell, north London, before drinking with Terry Neil, 56.
TSS director Terry Neil
Neil was a director of TSS, which provided security to venues in the West End and treated Partridge to meals at high-end restaurants including Nobu, and cocktails at Archers Bar.
He was a guest of the firm at a £3,000-a-ticket end-of-summer party held by Sir Elton John at the singer’s Berkshire home in September 2014 to raise money for his Aids Foundation charity, as well as Global’s Make Some Noise gala dinner.
Signed Wayne Rooney football shirts
Prosecutor Philip Evans KC said Neil wanted to keep Partridge “sweet” and the officer helped his firm get a contract with Mayfair restaurant Sketch by putting pressure on the management.
Beat nightclub boss Eamonn Mulholland, 56, was accused of bribed Partridge with free tickets to see Manchester United, including luxury hospitality, travel and hotel accommodation.
Police found two shirts signed by then player Wayne Rooney that said “Best Wishes Frank” and “Best wishes Alessandro” (his son), as well as a souvenir football in a box for the Manchester derby in a search of his home.
Man Utd shirt signed by Wayne Rooney
But Mulholland, of Florence Street, Islington, north London was cleared of two charges of bribery as was TSS director Soraya Henderson, 56, of Flackwell Heath, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire.
Partridge, who now lives in Spain with his wife, said he “couldn’t believe what was happening” when he was arrested and denied his job was impacted by taking bribes.
“I had made myself confident I could accept those gifts because there was nothing in it at all,” he said.
Bishti, of Exhibition Road, South Kensington; Neil, of Kimbers Drive, Slough, Berkshire; and Anna Ginandes, 46, of Fellows Road, Camden, north London; were each found guilty of one count of bribery.
A defendant who cannot be named for legal reasons, was found guilty of one count of bribery. They will be sentenced on September 21.
Crown Prosecution Service senior specialist prosecutor Debbie Jeffrey said: “It is clearly wrong and unlawful for a police officer to accept bribes in return for improperly performing his duties, but Frank Partridge did.
“In fact, for a two-year period he maintained corrupt relationships with the co-defendants also found guilty of bribery today.
“In doing so he failed in his duty to reduce crime and ensure public safety.”
‘Motivated by greed’
Commander James Harman, from the Met’s anti-corruption and abuse command, said: “This is a case where an officer with responsibility for licensing in central London has abused his position of trust and power for his own personal gain.”
He said Partridge was “motivated by greed and self-interest”, adding: “That’s corruption and we are determined to route corruption out of the Met.
“Officers are in a position of trust and the vast majority do their duties with bravery, professionalism and determination to do the right thing for the public.
“But a minority, as in this case, will take advantage of their position of responsibility and where they do so they can expect to be dismissed, arrested charged and prosecuted in the courts.”
The former leader of Reform UK in Wales has been sentenced to 10 and a half years after he admitted accepting tens of thousands of pounds in cash to make pro-Russian statements to the media and European Parliament.
Nathan Gill had “abused a position of significant authority and trust” and was “motivated by financial and political gain”, said Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb during remarks at the Old Bailey on Friday.
Gill, 52, of Anglesey, North Wales, had previously pleaded guilty to eight counts of bribery between 6 December 2018 and 18 July 2019, corresponding to his time as an MEP.
Nathan Gill is surrounded by media as he arrives at the Old Bailey. Pic: PA
The Old Bailey heard his activities were linked to pro-Russian statements about Ukraine while he was a member of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) and subsequently the Brexit Party.
Following an investigation by counter-terrorism police, officers said they believe Gill likely took a minimum of £40,000 in cash and was offering to introduce other British MEPs so they could be bribed. Officers also said they believed some individuals in this case had a direct link to Vladimir Putin.
Nathan Gill pleaded guilty to eight counts of bribery. Pic: Met Police
Prosecutor Mark Heywood KC previously told the court the bribery offences related to Gill’s association with pro-Russian Oleg Voloshyn, who had been a Ukrainian government official before 2014 and was sanctioned by the UK in 2022.
Gill’s activities emerged in WhatsApp messages after he was stopped at Manchester Airport on 13 September 2021.
He was about to board a flight to Russia to be an observer in elections there.
Bundles of cash recovered
Police said the messages revealed Voloshyn had tasked Gill to make pro-Russian statements on a reward basis. Counter-terrorism officers said the text of some speeches was provided to Gill, which he delivered almost word-for-word.
In other cases, he was paid to offer commentary to news outlets, such as the pro-Russian media organisation 112 Ukraine.
A search of his home in Wales also uncovered thousands in euros and dollars.
Bundles of cash were recovered from Gill’s home. Pic: Met Police
Pic: Met Police
Greed ‘primary motivation’
Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command, described Gill as being motivated by money.
“It appears… greed was his primary motivation. But I think there’s an element of him that had a pro-Russian stance as well, but only he can answer that question, to be honest with you, he never told us that.”
Gill was interviewed in March 2022 and made no comment. He was charged and appeared in court in February 2025.
Gill said no comment when interviewed by officers in 2022. Pic: Met Police
‘A grave betrayal of trust’
During sentencing, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb described Gill’s offending as “sophisticated” and “a grave betrayal of the trust vested in you by the electorate”.
She told him: “You accepted payments from foreign nationals, made statements on important international matters at their behest, utilised scripted material presented as your own, and orchestrated the involvement of other MPs.
“Your misconduct has ramifications far beyond personal honour, which is now irretrievably damaged. It erodes public confidence in democracy when politicians succumb to financial inducement.”
Gill was paid to offer commentary to pro-Russian media outlet, 112 Ukraine. Pic: Met Police
Other UK politicians at risk
Commander Murphy said that police were continuing to investigate other MEPs, including some from the UK.
“What we do know from the conversations with [Oleg] Voloshyn is that Nathan Gill actually offered his services to contact other MEPs, mostly UK MEPs, to also make statements that might be supportive of a Russian position in Ukraine,” he said.
He added: “I do believe that some of the individuals in this case do have direct connections to Vladimir Putin. And I have no doubt that if we were able to, we could follow this trail and it would lead straight to Moscow.”
Commander Dominic Murphy believes greed was Gill’s primary motivation
Gill led the Welsh wing of UKIP between 2014 and 2016 and was a member of the Senedd between 2016 and 2017.
He was an MEP between 2014 and 2020, but left UKIP in 2019 to join Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party – later Reform UK.
Political fallout after prison term
Police have confirmed Nigel Farage has not been part of this investigation, but political rivals have called on the Reform UK leader to launch a thorough investigation.
Defence minister Al Carns, a former colonel in the Royal Marines, said Gill’s actions were “a disgrace”. He added: “I just think wherever we see Russian influence in UK politics, it’s got to be weeded out.”
Read more from Sky News:
Zelenskyy reacts to peace plan
Europe cannot reject Trump’s plan
Britain warns Russia over spy ship
Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said “a traitor was at the very top of Reform UK”, referring to Gill, but also launched a direct attack on Mr Farage by calling him, and his party, “a danger to national security”.
“Nigel Farage himself was previously paid to be on Putin’s TV channel, Russia Today, and said he was the world leader he admires the most.
“We must all ask – where do his loyalties really lie? We need a full investigation into Russian interference in our politics,” he said.
Reform UK, which previously kicked Gill out of the party, said in a statement: “Mr Gill’s actions were reprehensible, treasonous and unforgivable. We are glad that justice has been served and fully welcome the sentence Nathan Gill has received.”
Liz Saville Roberts, Plaid Cymru’s Westminster leader, welcomed Gill’s jail sentence “for his acts of betrayal in taking bribes from Russia”.
In a statement, she said: “If the former Reform UK leader in Wales was part of a broader, co-ordinated effort to advance Moscow’s agenda within our democratic institutions, then the public deserves to know the full truth, and how far Russian money and influence reached into Nigel Farage’s inner circle.”
Britons buying cocaine on a Friday night could be inadvertently funding Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The National Crime Agency has revealed a billion-dollar money laundering network is operating in 28 towns and cities across the UK.
Couriers collect “dirty” cash generated from drugs, firearms and immigration gangs, which is then converted into cryptocurrency.
Officials say these illicit transactions have a direct link to “geopolitical events causing suffering around the world”.
This network was first exposed because of Operation Destabilise – and to date, 128 arrests have been made, with more than £25m in cash and digital assets seized.
A poster put up in motorway service station toilets by the NCA. Pic: PA
According to the NCA, the enterprise is so prolific that it purchased a bank to facilitate payments that supported Russia’s military efforts and helped sidestep sanctions.
Posters have been put up in motorway service stations to target couriers, which warn it is “just a matter of time” before they will be arrested.
The NCA’s deputy director for economic crime, Sal Melki, has warned the threat posed by this money laundering network is significant.
He added: “Cash couriers play an intrinsic role in this global scheme. They are in our communities and making the criminal ecosystem function – because if you cannot profit from your crimes, why bother.
“They are paid very little for the risks they take and face years in prison, while those they work for enjoy huge profits.”
Mr Melki went on to warn that “easy money leads to hard time” – and earning just a few hundred pounds through laundering could lead to years behind bars.
Sal Melki
The NCA says Operation Destabilise has already had an impact in criminal circles, with some members of the network now reluctant to operate in London.
Those involved in the money laundering effort have also started to charge higher fees – reflecting the difficulty of cleaning ill-gotten gains.
Cryptocurrencies are often regarded as a haven for criminals because they are perceived to be anonymous, but it is possible to trace these transactions.
Chainalysis is a company that monitors suspicious activity on blockchains, a type of database that keeps records of who sends and receives digital assets – as well as how much.
Its vice president of communications Madeleine Kennedy told Sky News: “Public blockchains are transparent by design, which makes cryptocurrencies a poor vehicle for money laundering.
“With the right tools, law enforcement can trace illicit funds – whether they’re connected to drug trafficking, sanctions evasion, or cybercrime – and use those insights to disrupt networks and recover assets.”
Read more:
Sky News joins police raid on Turkish barber shop
Crypto scammer jailed after UK’s biggest Bitcoin bust
Ekatarina Zhdanova. Pic: NCA
Last December, a global investigation led by the NCA smashed two networks whose money laundering activities were prevalent in 30 countries.
Bundles of cash were seized during raids, with detectives describing Smart and TGR as the invisible link between “Russian elites, crypto-rich cybercriminals and drug gangs in the UK”.
One of the network’s ringleaders, a Russian national called Ekatarina Zhdanova, is currently in custody in France and awaiting trial for separate financial offences.
Security minister Dan Jarvis added: “This complex operation has exposed the corrupt tactics Russia used to avoid sanctions and fund its illegal war in Ukraine.
“We are working tirelessly to detect, disrupt and prosecute anyone engaging in activity for a hostile foreign state. It will never be tolerated on our streets.”
-
Sports2 years agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports3 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Sports3 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment3 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment1 year agoHere are the best electric bikes you can buy at every price level in October 2024