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

PC Stanley Kennett, 31, has been dismissed after a tribunal found he ran The Coffee Cycle while still on full pay from the force. The decision highlights a cluster of disciplinary rulings in which officers were removed for operating businesses or being unfit for duty.

Stanley Kennett Met Police: tribunal finds unauthorised business interest

Kennett applied in April 2024 to run The Coffee Cycle but his application was declined; the misconduct hearing concluded he "continued to engage in and operate this unauthorised business interest. " The ruling states that by September 2025 it had been confirmed he maintained involvement in the venture while receiving full pay from the Metropolitan Police, and the panel found that conduct amounted to gross misconduct and warranted dismissal.

The Coffee Cycle operation in Storrington, West Sussex

The Coffee Cycle is based inside a bike shop in Storrington, West Sussex. Its online presence shows the business serves coffee, cake and pastries and provides catering for events. The tribunal was told the enterprise had been incorporated, a director's loan had been extended, and staff were employed as the business expanded.

Pay status and timeline: April 2024 application to September 2025 confirmation

Kennett’s application to run the business dates to April 2024, and the tribunal set out that, despite the application being refused, he continued to operate the venture. By September 2025 the force had confirmed his continued engagement with the business while he was still being paid. That sequence — application, refusal, ongoing activity while on full pay — was central to the tribunal’s finding of gross misconduct.

Other dismissals: mobile pizza service and alleged on-duty intoxication

The ruling came amid a busy period of disciplinary action. Within a week the Met dismissed two officers for running businesses while being paid. Firearms Sergeant Matt Skelt was sacked last week after working on and promoting a mobile pizza service while on long-term sick leave; the tribunal concluded his conduct was gross misconduct. The case of stanley kennett met police was heard alongside another matter involving a former detective constable.

At a separate tribunal it was heard that former Det Con Sean Brierley would have been dismissed had he not already left the force, after being found so intoxicated on duty that he could not walk straight. The panel was told he went to the Gravity Well Taproom on the evening of 2 July 2025 after being informed a suspect at Leyton police station was not yet available for interview. Video from the bar showed him ordering three glasses of white wine over two hours, and CCTV footage captured him returning to the station later that night appearing "unsteady on his feet", "staggering" and "off balance".

The hearing on 12 February heard evidence from a custody sergeant who said Brierley "smelt drunk", and other staff described his speech as "slurred". The panel concluded the behaviour would have led to dismissal had the officer remained with the force.

Cdr Andy Brittain’s assessment and disciplinary message

Commander Andy Brittain characterised The Coffee Cycle as more than a volunteer placement, describing it as "a full-blown and expanding business" supported by formal steps such as incorporation, a director's loan and the employment of staff. He noted that PC Kennett had been active in promoting the venture on social media and that the operation appeared to be run at multiple levels with Kennett heavily involved.

What makes this notable is the combination of pay status and operational involvement: the tribunal determined that running an expanding commercial enterprise while receiving full salary from the force crossed the threshold into gross misconduct. Other linked headlines in recent coverage referenced an officer sacked after assaulting a neighbour and a Met PC dismissed for not disclosing a firearms probe, underscoring a broader disciplinary sweep across different types of misconduct.

The dismissals close formal proceedings in these cases and underline the force’s disciplinary response where off-duty activity or behaviour is judged incompatible with policing duties.