Police chief attacks his officer's decision to sue garage owner over 999 call injuries saying her actions do not represent the majority of staff

Chf Con Phil Gormley reveals disappointment over Kelly Jones's case

WPC Jones suing burglary victim after tripping over kerb at his garage

The Police Federation are encouraging officers to make the claims

Keith Vaz has demanded urgent Home Office guidelines on the issue

Chief Constable Phil Gormley has spoken of his 'disappointment' after one of his officers began legal action to seek damages from a petrol station owner after she reportedly tripped on a kerb while attending a suspected break-in

The policewoman suing a garage boss after tripping over a kerb was publicly humiliated by her own chief constable yesterday.



Norfolk chief Phil Gormley said the actions of WPC Kelly Jones had undermined the public’s trust in the police.



Her claim is a ‘disappointment’, he insisted, and does not represent the attitude of the ‘vast majority’ of officers.



Mr Gormley was under pressure to discipline WPC Jones as critics said her personal injury claim ‘brought discredit’ on his force.



She was last night considering abandoning the claim after talks between senior officers and her Police Federation representatives.



Mr Gormley made it clear he does not support WPC Jones, who is on sick leave over an unrelated medical problem.



He said: ‘This doesn’t typify the attitude and behaviour of police officers either in Norfolk or nationally.



‘I’ve got hundreds of officers who perform first-class work across the county, responding to hundreds of thousands of calls a year.



‘So it is a disappointment to us and I do understand why it has caused such a public reaction.



‘In 27-and-a-half years in the service, this is the first time I have ever personally come across a set of circumstances like that.

‘The vast majority of officers perform their work brilliantly well, they are aware of the risks, and in fact many people are attracted by the risk and the variety of a police career.

It is surprising and disappointing I think for the majority of our staff that an incident like this has undermined confidence in how we do our job.’



WPC Jones, a divorced mother-of-two, remains in hiding at her parents’ home in Thetford, Norfolk.

WPC Kelly Jones, left, is suing burglary victim Steve Jones, right, after she tripped on a 6in kerb at his garage, pictured, while investigating a break-in

She triggered the row by asking a top London law firm to sue a garage owner after she fell over a 6ins kerb while answering a midnight call.

The officer hurt her wrist and leg and hopes to receive compensation after her lawyers accused Steve Jones of failing to ensure his premises was ‘reasonably safe’. The businessman, who is not related to her, has passed her claim to his insurers and fears his premium may rise as a result.

A former colleague of WPC Jones said: ‘We do not know how serious her injuries were. But she was certainly able to finish her shift.’

Further questions also remain over the role of the Police Federation in brokering the civil legal action by one of its members.

The national Federation pointed the finger at the branch which represents constables, while local representatives said they simply passed paperwork to lawyers. But yesterday the Daily Mail revealed frontline officers are receiving millions of pounds every year from personal injury claims from a Police Federation-backed service.

Lawyers behind the free claimline boast they have recovered £42million in the last two years alone after suing over slips and trips, workplace accidents and negligence.

Stephen Bett, Norfolk’s police and crime commissioner, said WPC Jones’s behaviour was ‘appalling’ and ‘leaves me cold’.

WPC Jones tripped while investigating the break in at the Nuns' Bridges Service Station in Thetford, Norfolk. Owner Steve Jones said it is example of the 'fallacy that someone is to blame for every accident' He said: ‘Of course, there are officers who deserve to receive help when they are injured in the course of duty and the public would readily support this. WPC Jones, I suspect, is not one of them.’ Henry Bellingham, Tory MP for North West Norfolk, called on the Home Secretary to ‘get a grip’ of the situation immediately. He said: ‘Will a firefighter sue because they don’t like flames or a paramedic because they can’t stand blood? This threatens the fabric of our emergency services. ‘The public need to know they can have confidence that the police will investigate a crime without trying to sue them.’

Keith Vaz, left, chairman of the Commons home affairs committee, has demanded urgent Home Office guidelines while Norfolk MP Norman Lamb, right, said the Thetford case was unacceptable









