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# Hampshire police face misconduct review after using anti-LGBTQ+ slurs
- URL: https://www.scenemag.co.uk/hampshire-police-face-misconduct-review-after-using-anti-lgbtq-slurs/
- Published: 2020-10-21T09:10:09.000Z
- Updated: 2020-10-20T15:21:25.000Z
- Description: Six police officers based in Basingstoke, Hampshire underwent a disciplinary hearing after they were recorded using homophobic and transphobic slurs.
- Author: Rachel Badham
- Tags: News, Hampshire, LGBTQ, LGBTQ+ rights, UK News

![](https://www.scenemag.co.uk/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/socu-basingstoke-1.jpg)

The serious and organised crime police office in Basingstoke, Hampshire

Six police officers based in **Basingstoke, Hampshire** underwent a disciplinary hearing on **Monday 19 October** after they were recorded using homophobic, transphobic, misogynistic and racial slurs. The men in question are detective sergeant **Oliver Lage**, detective sergeant **Gregory Willcox**, constable **James Oldfield**, trainee detective constable **Andrew Ferguson**, retired detective inspector **Tim Ireson** and former constable **Craig Bannerman**. According to **[HampshireLive](https://www.hampshirelive.news/news/hampshire-news/covert-sting-caught-6-hampshire-4619938?ref=scenemag.co.uk)**, a recording device was planted in the police office after a confidential complaint, and found the police officers in question had been using anti-LGBTQ+ slurs and discriminating against a black colleague.

Recordings heard one officer referring to gay men as ‘queers’ and another calling women ‘sluts’. They were also heard joking about drowning migrants. Jason Beer, a representative of the Hampshire constabulary, attributes the ‘toxic culture’ in the office to a lack of leadership, saying: *“The SOCU \[serious and organised crime unit\] office is in relative isolation to the rest of the force due to the covert nature of their activities. A lack of leadership and supervision appears to have led to a toxic and abhorrent culture developing. A toxic and abhorrent culture is in breach of values and standards of the police service.”*

![](https://www.scenemag.co.uk/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/socu-basingstoke-2-1.jpg)

All six officers denied the allegations but Oldfield admitted in interview that jokes made about migrants drowning were *“in poor taste”.* Hearings are due to continue at the end of the month.