Stanley Kennett Met Police officer sacked for running coffee business while receiving full pay

PC stanley kennett met police has been sacked for gross misconduct after a tribunal found he continued to operate The Coffee Cycle despite his application to do so being declined. The decision is part of a string of disciplinary rulings that saw two officers dismissed within a week for running businesses while still receiving pay from the force.

Stanley Kennett Met Police: misconduct finding and dismissal

Thirty-one-year-old PC Stanley Kennett applied in April 2024 to run The Coffee Cycle but was refused permission. The misconduct hearing found that, in September 2025, Kennett nonetheless "continued to engage in and operate this unauthorised business interest" while receiving full pay from the force. The tribunal concluded this amounted to gross misconduct and dismissed him from the Metropolitan Police.

The Coffee Cycle in Storrington, West Sussex

The Coffee Cycle operates from a bike shop in Storrington, West Sussex. Information published on the business's website and social media shows it serves coffee, cake and pastries and provides catering for events. The tribunal heard the venture was more than casual volunteering: it traded as a business and offered event catering.

Cdr Andy Brittain's assessment of the venture

Commander Andy Brittain told the panel the enterprise was not a simple side activity. He noted the business had been incorporated, received a director's loan and employed staff. Kennett had actively promoted The Coffee Cycle on social media and was described as heavily involved in its operation at every stage. What makes this notable is that the venture displayed formal business structures—incorporation, lending and payroll—rather than the limited engagement typical of voluntary work.

Parallel cases: Sgt Matt Skelt and former Det Con Sean Brierley

The ruling formed part of a cluster of dismissals and near-dismissals. Within a week the Met dismissed two officers for running businesses while on paid leave. Last week firearms Sergeant Matt Skelt was sacked for gross misconduct after he worked on and promoted a mobile pizza service while on long-term sick leave. At a separate tribunal the panel heard that former Detective Constable Sean Brierley would have been dismissed had he not already left the force.

Tribunal evidence in the Brierley hearing

The panel examining Brierley's conduct was told he went to the Gravity Well Taproom on the evening of 2 July 2025 after being told a suspect at Leyton police station was not available for interview. Video footage shown to the tribunal captured him ordering three glasses of white wine over roughly two hours. CCTV footage later recorded him returning to the station appearing unsteady on his feet, staggering and off balance. A custody sergeant gave evidence that Brierley "smelt drunk" and other staff reported his speech was slurred. The panel heard this testimony on 12 February, and concluded the behaviour would have warranted dismissal had he still been serving.

The sequence of rulings underscores a direct cause-and-effect pattern: officers who engaged in unauthorised outside work or who were found significantly impaired while on duty faced formal misconduct proceedings that resulted in dismissal or, in one case, would have done so if the officer had not already departed the force. The decisions reflect an enforcement stance that treated commercial operation and on-duty intoxication as breaches serious enough to end police careers.