Stanley Kennett Met Police: Officer sacked for running coffee business while on full pay
The tribunal ruling that led to the dismissal of PC Stanley Kennett, 31, marks a sharp enforcement of rules on outside business activity after it found he continued to operate The Coffee Cycle while receiving full pay from the force; the case is part of a week in which two officers were dismissed for running businesses whilst being paid.
Stanley Kennett Met Police: tribunal findings
PC Stanley Kennett applied in April 2024 to run The Coffee Cycle but the application was declined. The misconduct hearing heard that, despite the rejection and without an appeal, Kennett continued to engage in and operate the unauthorised business interest. In September 2025 it was confirmed in the ruling that Kennett continued to engage in and operate the business while receiving full pay from the force. The misconduct hearing concluded that this conduct amounted to gross misconduct and Kennett has been placed on the College of Policing’s barred list.
How The Coffee Cycle operated in Storrington, West Sussex
The Coffee Cycle is based in a bike shop in Storrington, West Sussex. The business serves coffee, cake and pastries and provides catering for events, and it lists those services on its website and social media. The tribunal was told the venture was not a simple volunteering opportunity.
Details of management and promotion of the business
Commander Andy Brittain described the enterprise as a full-blown and expanding business with formal steps taken to support growth: incorporation, the granting of a director's loan and the employment of staff. The hearing was told that Kennett was actively engaged in promoting the venture on social media and that the operation was sophisticated, with Kennett heavily involved at all points. The tribunal concluded these facts undermined submissions that Kennett lacked the capacity to understand the significance of his actions. The panel also said running a business while suspended on full pay brings policing, and the Metropolitan Police in particular, into disrepute, and that members of the public would not expect serving police officers to act in this way.
Wider pattern: multiple dismissals for off-duty business activity
The Kennett ruling came amid a cluster of disciplinary decisions: the Met dismissed two officers for running businesses whilst being paid within a week. Last week, firearms Sergeant Matt Skelt was sacked for gross misconduct after working and promoting a mobile pizza service while on long-term sick leave.
Parallel tribunal: intoxication finding in separate case
A separate tribunal on the same day considered the case of former Detective Constable Sean Brierley. The panel heard that on the evening of 2 July 2025 Brierley went to the Gravity Well Taproom after being told a suspect at Leyton police station was not yet available to be interviewed. Video footage from the east London bar showed him ordering three glasses of white wine over two hours. CCTV captured him returning to the police station later that evening appearing unsteady on his feet, staggering and off balance. The panel heard on 12 February that a custody sergeant said Brierley smelled of alcohol and other staff reported his speech had been slurred. The tribunal concluded he would have been dismissed if he had not already left the force.
Other misconduct case highlighted at the hearing
The hearings also referenced a misconduct case from another force. An officer described as Sergeant X by her force was barred from working in any UK law enforcement agencies after an inquiry found she used a work-from-home hack to remain logged on. The investigation identified keystroke activity in 2024 that was significantly higher than colleagues, with the majority of shifts showing three to eight times the keystroke count seen in comparable roles. She admitted using the corner of a picture frame to weigh down her keyboard so the laptop would not go into sleep mode while she was experiencing personal-life challenges; the outcome was a bar from law enforcement work.
What the rulings mean now
The disciplinary panels delivered findings that resulted in dismissal in the Kennett and Skelt cases and in a barring outcome in the case referred to as Sergeant X. The tribunal records and barred-list placement are the immediate administrative consequences set out in the rulings. Some procedural details are unclear in the provided context and may evolve as formal notices are finalised.
