‘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.”
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The first vote on the assisted dying bill is not only hugely consequential, it’s also hugely unpredictable and even as the vote draws near it still feels like it could go either way.
MPs will debate the bill, brought forward by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, in parliament today before they get a free vote on the legislation.
There are a few reasons why the potential outcome of the vote is difficult to predict. Firstly, the last Commons vote on this issue was back in 2015. It was also a Private Members’ Bill and a free vote, that was defeated by 331 to 119 – 199 MPs didn’t vote and one abstained.
That may seem like a useful starting point to predict future results but there has been an unprecedented turnover of MPs since then.
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It was less than a decade ago but over two-thirds of those MPs from 2015 are no longer in parliament. This means there’s no voting record that can help us out this time round.
Secondly, it’s a free vote so we can’t, as we usually would, look to the political parties to work out the numbers.
Every single one of the 650 MPs must make up their minds for themselves and they have all taken a slightly different approach to the process.
How MPs have told Sky News they will vote on assisted dying
Some came out straight away and declared their position publicly. Some took their time and have only decided in the last few days, putting out statements on social media platforms.
There are also those who prefer to keep it to themselves, and some who are genuinely still undecided and will be until they walk through the voting lobbies.
So, to get a sense of what could happen, at Sky News we have been monitoring declarations as well as reaching out to every MP personally.
This has given us, on the eve of the second reading, an informative but still incomplete picture.
So far we have confirmed that 181 MPs will vote for the bill, while 148 say they will vote against, and 300 are either undecided or haven’t revealed their decision.
There are also 20 MPs that won’t vote – the SNP because the changes won’t apply in Scotland, Sinn Fein who don’t sit in Westminster, and the Speaker and Deputy Speakers.
Of those who will vote but whose position is still unknown, about two-thirds are Labour MPs – a big chunk of those are brand new.
This is the deciding cohort, who just a few months into their roles will make a life-or-death decision that will influence generations to come – no pressure.
Ms Leadbeater has said she hopes parliament will “show itself at its best” by voting in favour of the bill.
In a statement on Thursday night, she said: “I hope this parliament will also be remembered for this major social reform that gives people autonomy over the end of their lives and puts right an injustice that has been left on the statute books for far too long.
“People will be looking in on parliament as it debates this important change to the law – a change that, when we most need it, could bring comfort to any one of us or to somebody we love.”
Read more on assisted dying:
Analysis: Bill could be wrecked by dirty tricks
Five stories that bring the assisted dying debate home
David Cameron comes out in support of bill
How MPs are making up their minds
What does the bill propose?
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Lord Cameron to support assisted dying bill
What could make the difference?
Most MPs tell us they have been poring over the legislation line-by-line and listening intently to their constituents.
But beyond that, there are external factors that will no doubt have influenced their thinking.
Public opinion will be high on the list, with the latest YouGov poll – one of many – showing an overwhelming majority (73%) of the public are in favour of a change in the law.
The other will be how Cabinet ministers vote, with many high profile and respected names, Ed Miliband and Hilary Benn among them, coming out in favour.
MPs will vote in the House of Commons on the bill
More controversial though are those who oppose the bill.
In particular, the Health Secretary Wes Streeting and the Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood have made the news with their views.
They will both have to take a leading role in implementing the legislation if it passes.
Mr Streeting shocked Westminster when he revealed he had changed his mind after voting for the 2015 version.
He also ruffled feathers among colleagues when he appeared to breach the etiquette around free votes, by repeatedly raising concerns around extra pressures on the NHS and making the case for improving palliative care instead.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting changed his mind on the issue. Pic: PA
Mr Streeting’s position and approach have made the bill’s supporters nervous that new MPs will fall in behind him.
In contrast, other big beasts – the prime minister, the chancellor and the foreign secretary – remain silent on which way they will go, aware that their opinions could sway the result.
As it stands, after all the number crunching, it looks likely that this landmark legislation will pass the second reading.
But with so many unknowns, both sides will feel that even at this late stage, it’s still impossible to call.
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