A Metropolitan Police officer who saved sexual images on his work phone has been dismissed without notice. PS Nicholas Bolton's behaviour was first flagged in 2024 after an intelligence report suggested he had been recording sexually explicit images on his work device. A manual review initially found no explicit content, but on July 26, his phone was seized for forensic examination, revealing a list of tagged files. Investigators unearthed nine photos, some showing 'female A' in lingerie, while others included nudity in poses that could be interpreted as sexually suggestive.
Breach of Trust
Female A stated that she had consensually sent the photos via Instagram using the view-once setting, meaning Bolton compromised her wishes when he saved them. During an interview on May 20 last year, Bolton admitted that the images were sent to his personal phone, but he used the camera on his work phone to take pictures of the pictures. He deleted the images within a few days and also removed them from the device's deleted folder, acknowledging that his actions were 'unacceptable, inappropriate, and regrettable'.
No Policing Reason
The disgraced officer also accepted that there was no good policing reason for saving the pictures. Panel lead Commander Andy Brittain stated: 'Having considered the matter fully and having regard to the nature and severity of the breach of the Standards of Professional Behaviour as well as the mitigation, the sanction I impose is dismissal without notice.' Bolton was sacked at a hearing held on May 14 and has been placed on the policing barred list, preventing him from working in law enforcement in the future.
