Stanley Kennett Met Police dismissal underlines fallout when officers run side businesses

The dismissal of two officers within a week for operating businesses while being paid has immediate consequences for colleagues, internal discipline and public confidence. The stanley kennett met police matter — one of the cases — is tied to a commercial venture run from a bike shop in West Sussex while Kennett drew full pay, raising questions about disclosure, oversight and how the force treats off-duty commercial activity.

Stanley Kennett Met Police: who is affected and how

Frontline teams and staff handling misconduct reviews will feel the impact first: a clear disciplinary outcome in one case sits beside unresolved accountability questions in others. The stanley kennett met police outcome also intersects with a separate sacking for activity during long-term sick leave and another disciplinary hearing that stopped short because an officer had already left the force, creating immediate personnel and reputational pressure.

Key facts and what happened (condensed)

PC Stanley Kennett, 31, applied to run The Coffee Cycle in April 2024 but his application was declined. A misconduct hearing concluded that he continued to engage in and operate the unauthorised business interest while receiving full pay from the force; that continued engagement was confirmed in a ruling in September 2025 and the panel found gross misconduct.

The Coffee Cycle is based in a bike shop in Storrington, West Sussex, and serves coffee, cake and pastries and provides catering for events, as described on its website and social media. Command staff described the venture as more than volunteer activity: it had been incorporated, benefitted from a director's loan and employed staff, and PC Kennett was active in promoting the operation on social platforms, making it a sophisticated, expanding business in which he was heavily involved.

These developments arrived in the same stretch of internal disciplinary work that produced two other high-profile outcomes. Last week, a firearms sergeant, Matt Skelt, was sacked for gross misconduct after working on and promoting a mobile pizza service while on long-term sick leave. Separately, a tribunal heard that former Detective Constable Sean Brierley would have been dismissed if he had not already left the force after being found to have worked while significantly intoxicated.

The Brierley matter was outlined at a second tribunal: on the evening of 2 July 2025 he went to the Gravity Well Taproom after being told a suspect at Leyton police station was not yet available for interview. Video footage from the east London bar showed him ordering three glasses of white wine over roughly two hours. CCTV captured him returning to the police station later that evening unsteady, staggering and off balance, and the panel heard evidence on 12 February that a custody sergeant smelled alcohol and other staff described slurred speech.

• Two officers were dismissed within a week for running businesses while receiving pay.
• PC Stanley Kennett, 31, continued to operate The Coffee Cycle after an April 2024 application was declined; continued engagement while on full pay was confirmed in September 2025.
• The Coffee Cycle operates from a bike shop in Storrington, West Sussex, selling coffee, cake and pastries and offering event catering; it has been incorporated and employed staff.
• Firearms Sergeant Matt Skelt was sacked for running a mobile pizza service while on long-term sick leave.
• Former Det Con Sean Brierley would have been sacked for being significantly intoxicated on duty, following activity on 2 July 2025 and evidence heard on 12 February.

Here's the part that matters: the cluster of dismissals and near-dismissals point to a sharper enforcement phase on undeclared outside work and conduct while on duty, with practical consequences for staffing and for how off-duty enterprise is policed.

What’s easy to miss is that these are three distinct disciplinary threads landing at once — a refused application turned active business, commercial activity during sick leave, and alleged on-duty intoxication — which complicates any single narrative about misconduct trends inside the force.

The real question now is how internal controls and disclosure checks will change to prevent recurrence; any policy shifts or process changes are unclear in the provided context and may evolve as the force completes further reviews.