Officers claim scandal-prone Police Federation is run “like North Korea”
A breakaway group of officers is calling for one of the most powerful organisations in British policing to be scrapped or stripped of its monopoly over the right to represent the rank and file, Tortoise can reveal.
The rival group says the Police Federation of England and Wales, which represents up to 147,000 officers, is not fit for purpose, and has compiled a report alleging bullying and mismanagement.
The move comes after Sir Mark Rowley, the commissioner of the Met, said the London branch of the federation was “perverse” to have supported an officer accused of rape and other sexual offences who failed a vetting process.
The group’s report, submitted to the Home Office and sent to chief constables, alleges that long-term dysfunction at the Police Federation has further damaged public confidence in policing. It highlights:
- allegations of bullying and “a toxic working environment”;
- “significant questions” over the federation’s financial governance;
- widespread “pushback” from members over the current CEO’s hiring and pay; and
- extensive use of confidentiality clauses even though the federation has publicly campaigned for police forces to stop using non-disclosure agreements when settling claims.
The breakaway group called on the government to amend laws that have created an effective monopoly for the federation since it was established more than 100 years ago.
The group claims to have the support of some chief constables, as well as a groundswell of support among regional federation representatives.
“As referenced repeatedly in police stations up and down the country, if police officers had another choice, they would abandon the Federation as it has so continually abandoned them,” the report claims.
The group is led by Sergeant Lee Broadbent, former chair of the Greater Manchester Police Federation; Temporary Inspector Mark Jones, former North Wales branch secretary; Steve Treharne, a retired officer and former chair of South Wales police and Martin Buhagiar, the former head of communications for PFEW.
A federation whistleblower told Tortoise that the CEO, Mukund Krishna, runs the organisation “as if it were North Korea”.
Krishna, who reportedly earns £320,000 a year, has already been publicly accused of labelling those who question him “internal terrorists”.
Since Krishna’s appointment in July 2023 there has been a series of high-profile suspensions of senior federation representatives, including the national chair and the chairs of the Met police and West Midlands, as well Mr Jones, who claims he was targeted for querying Mr Krishna over federation spending.
In each case they say they have faced disciplinary hearings for unrelated allegations after questioning Mr Krishna’s approach. The federation says the CEO had no role in these proceedings and that they were based on the advice of independent panels. Mr Jones appealed his suspension and lost.
The group’s report adds references to reviews on the Glassdoor recruitment website from employees who “again point to a toxic working environment”. One linked review says: “The hateful atmosphere prepares you for working anywhere”.
It goes on to note “a marked increase in internal governance investigations leading to questionable dismissals and suspensions of very senior PFEW officials”.
A Freedom of Information request linked to in the report shows that between 2015 and 2024 the federation used 14 confidentiality agreements in settlements costing more than £700,000, despite publicly describing forces’ use of such agreements as “humiliating and wrong”.
A spokesman for PFEW dismissed the group’s claims and said the federation was facing up to the failings of the past and “working hard to change and become an organisation focused exclusively on the interests of its members”.
He called its claims about the CEO “unsupported… tropes” and said “the overwhelming majority” of members support the federation’s current direction.
The federation has been dogged by scandal and infighting for decades – not least in its response to the Plebgate conspiracy in 2012, vocally supporting officers who tried to frame the Tory chief whip Andrew Mitchell, after which independent reviews found extensive dysfunction, bullying and dissatisfaction among members.
It has been presented with a roughly £30 million compensation bill over a pensions dispute in which the federation was found to have betrayed its younger members, supporting a government move to switch them to a less generous plan.
Its Surrey headquarters, which has a bar, gym and now disused swimming pool, is up for sale.
In a statement, the group seeking the law change said: “Allowing PFEW to continue in its current form is a dereliction of the Government’s duty to safeguard police officers.
“Given policing has been subjected to so many reforms over the years, it is baffling that there has been no shake up to police representation in more than 100 years”.
The PFEW spokesman said the breakaway group was trying to destroy the federation, which he said would be “a disaster for the many thousands of police officers who rely on its support each year”.
