What happened to Insp Alex Taylor?

Insp Alex Taylor, a police officer in Greater Manchester, UK, was given a final written warning for having a sexual relationship with a subordinate police community support officer (PCSO) while on duty in 2020.

Why did the Police Misconduct Panel not dismiss Insp Taylor?

The panel decided not to dismiss Insp Taylor because they took into account psychiatric evidence that his decision-making was impaired due to mental health issues at the time.

How did the High Court judge rule on the case?

The High Court judge dismissed a challenge from Greater Manchester Police, which had argued that Insp Taylor should have been dismissed, and upheld the misconduct panel's decision as "sufficiently reasoned".

Home / Crime and Justice / Cop Keeps Job After On-Duty Affair with Subordinate Colleague

Cop Keeps Job After On-Duty Affair with Subordinate Colleague

18 Nov

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Summary

Police officer had sexual relationship with PCSO on duty
Misconduct panel gave final written warning, not dismissal
Judge ruled panel's decision was reasonable given officer's mental health issues

In November 2025, a High Court judge ruled that the Police Misconduct Panel was right not to dismiss a Greater Manchester police officer who had sex with a colleague on police premises while on duty in 2020.

The officer, Insp Alex Taylor, was given a final written warning to sit on his record for four years after it emerged that he began a relationship with a police community support officer (PCSO) earlier that year. The panel heard that Taylor and the PCSO exchanged "flirty and then overtly sexual" messages on WhatsApp before meeting up off-duty in April 2020 and having sex on a sofa.

The panel found that Taylor had "failed to act with self-control or professionalism" and "failed to live up to the leadership and managerial responsibilities expected", creating a "toxic working environment" that was only addressed when a junior colleague reported the issue.