A METROPOLITAN police officer who got his girlfriend to lie in court for him has been jailed.
PC Michael Turner, 44, of Hawkes Road, Witham, was found guilty of conspiring to pervert the course of justice along with his ex-girlfriend, nurse and Botox practitioner, Nicola Howell, 49, of St Mary's Road, Chigwell.
The pair appeared in Witham Magistrates' Court in September 2010 after Turner, a firearms officer at London City Airport, was caught at twice the legal drink-drive limit.
During that hearing, he claimed that Howell – unbeknown to him – had laced his drinks with vodka to relax him after a stressful day. This was a story that Howell went along with.
After the hearing in 2010, Turner was given an absolute discharge, the lowest form of punishment available to the courts and he kept his driver's licence.
It was only when a police officer in the case became suspicious of their story and interviewed Howell again that she admitted lying for Turner, claiming that she did so because she was afraid of him.
Turner claimed that he would never drink-drive because he relied on his driver's licence to enable him to see his severely autistic daughter, as well as for his job. He said that on the day of his arrest in 2010 he had only drunk two-and-a-half pints of Guinness and he was aware that Howell had in fact called the police to report him being over the limit.
Throughout their trial last month Turner and Howell sat at opposite ends of the dock as details of their "tumultuous relationship" were exposed.
Before sentencing on Friday, Turner's defence, Simon Livingstone, warned that he could be "targeted and even be a trophy", in prison. He added that Turner would lose out on £500,000-worth of salary and pension, as well as up to 65 per cent of his salary contributions.
Turner was jailed for 18 months and was banned from driving for 18 months. He was also ordered to pay £500 costs.
Howell was also sentenced to a six-month prison sentence and ordered to pay £500 in costs.
Judge David Turner QC said: "This strikes at the very root of the criminal justice system."
He added that there was something profoundly shameful about a police officer conspiring to pervert the course of justice.
