Senior Metropolitan Police Officer Fired for Refusing to Submit to Cannabis Testing

Julian Bennett, a commander who wrote the Metropolitan Police’s drug strategy, has been sacked after a disciplinary panel found he had refused a drug test.

Commander Julian Bennett arrives at a Metropolitan Police misconduct hearing at Palestra House, south east London. Bennett, on Aug. 1, 2023. Lucy North/PA

A Metropolitan Police commander has been fired after a disciplinary panel found he refused to provide a sample for a drugs test after being accused of smoking cannabis.

Julian Bennett, who joined the Met in 1976, had himself chaired 69 police misconduct hearings between June 2010 and February 2012, leading to the dismissal of 56 officers, earning him the nickname “Sacker.”