A serving Metropolitan Police officer has been dismissed without notice after a misconduct panel found he deliberately concealed information about a past arrest and a firearms investigation on his vetting forms.
Deliberate Concealment on Vetting Forms
PC Mohammad Bhatti, also known as Oz, was dismissed following a hearing in December. The panel, chaired by Met Police Commander Katie Lilburn, concluded he "more likely than not" read the vetting form correctly in 2020 and chose to withhold key details. He had ticked 'no' when asked if he had ever been arrested or investigated.
Commander Lilburn stated in the outcome report that PC Bhatti "lacked candour and lacked honesty" and that by omitting the information he "deliberately sought to conceal information for his own personal gain." She dismissed his claims of misunderstanding the form due to tiredness from early shifts, giving them "limited weight."
Undisclosed Arrest and Investigation Details
The hearing examined two specific incidents that PC Bhatti failed to declare. The first occurred on 12 August 2008, when he was arrested by Sussex Police on suspicion of drink-driving after crashing his car into a railing. He was de-arrested the same day after tests showed he was under the legal limit.
The second incident was a firearms investigation conducted between October 2011 and August 2012 by Sussex and Manchester Constabularies. This probe was launched after PC Bhatti's ex-partner alleged he had threatened her with two pistols. A subsequent raid on his home in June 2012 uncovered two imitation firearms—a BB gun and a gas-fired gun. PC Bhatti maintained the items were legal and the allegations were malicious.
Dismissal and Bar from Policing
The panel found PC Bhatti's actions amounted to gross misconduct. He was dismissed without notice and barred from serving in any police force in the future. During the hearing, he denied breaching standards on honesty and integrity but accepted failing to follow instructions. Colleagues provided character statements in his support, with one describing him as "a police officer of exemplary character."
Commander Lilburn emphasised the significance of the undisclosed information, noting that as a former Police Community Support Officer who had long sought to become a constable, he would have known it was important. She found it "improbable" he overlooked the most significant sections of the form.
PC Bhatti joined the Met as a PCSO in 2003, became a constable in 2009, and even appeared in the BBC documentary 'The Met: Policing London' in 2017. His career has now been ended by the findings of the misconduct panel.
