A police officer who went to work whilst five times over the drink-drive limit has been dismissed.
It was suspected that now-former British Transport Police officer Jason McGuinness, whose duties include patrolling to train network across the south of England, was unfit through alcohol.
When tested, he provided a positive result for alcohol which was more than five times over the limit.
At an accelerated misconduct hearing on Monday 30 January, the Chief Constable found that his actions amounted to gross misconduct and dismissed him with immediate effect.
Chief Constable Lucy D’Orsi said: “PC McGuinness started his shift as a frontline response officer, where he could potentially be expected to attend life and death situations in dangerous locations.
“He was not just slightly over the alcohol limit, but blew over five times it.
“In making the decision to report for duty in an unfit state due to excess alcohol, he put himself, his colleagues, and the public at risk.
“This was a serious breach of our standards and values at BTP. It is not acceptable for officers to betray the trust of the public or their colleagues. I have therefore dismissed PC McGuinness with immediate effect.”
