A Cambridgeshire police officer will face a fresh misconduct hearing after the High Court ruled that an earlier panel’s decision to dismiss allegations against him was “profoundly flawed”. PC Ben Suckling will appear before a newly constituted misconduct panel over three days in December 2025.
The case centres on Suckling’s contact with a young woman, referred to as Miss A, at Addenbrooke’s Hospital on 16 March 2018. She had reported what was recorded in the police Crime file as “rape of a female aged 16 or over”.
It is alleged that Suckling failed to follow required procedures for victims of serious sexual offences, breaching the Standards of Professional Behaviour relating to Equality & Diversity and Duties & Responsibilities.
According to the allegations being reheard, Suckling did not use an Early Evidence Kit (EEK) to obtain samples for toxicology, nor did he seize the woman’s clothing.
It is further alleged that he failed to refer her to a Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) or advise her that she could attend independently.
The original misconduct hearing, held in November 2023—more than five years after the events—found the allegations not proven, despite the panel accepting that Miss A was “honest and credible”.
Suckling told the panel he had no independent recollection of the incident but acknowledged that he would have been responsible for completing the relevant paperwork.
Although he conceded that no EEK had been used, he suggested he would likely have been acting on the advice of his supervising sergeant, PS Goodenough, who also had no memory of the event.
The Chief Constable of Cambridgeshire Constabulary sought a judicial review of the panel’s decision.
In June 2025, the High Court ruled in favour of the Chief Constable, concluding that the panel failed to grapple with key evidence, did not make necessary findings, and gave undue weight to irrelevant considerations.
Deputy High Court Judge Richard Clayton KC said the panel overlooked Suckling’s training, failed to explain why omissions should be excused by supposed supervisory advice, and did not properly address whether the conduct amounted to misconduct or gross misconduct.
“The panel’s conclusion is profoundly flawed,” the judge said. “Its failures amount to an unexplained evidential gap or leap in reasoning…and it is on that basis the panel’s decision was irrational.”
With the original findings quashed, the case has been ordered back for a complete rehearing before a new panel.
The fresh misconduct hearing will take place on Thursday 4 December, Friday 5 December and Friday 12 December 2025, beginning at 10am each day.
It will run both in person and online. The in-person venue is Lysander House, Station Road, Tempsford, SG19 2AX.
Members of the public wishing to attend—either online or in person—must register their interest by 3pm on Wednesday 3 December. Attendance will not be permitted without prior registration.
The rehearing will again examine whether Suckling’s actions in 2018 amounted to gross misconduct, and whether his handling of Miss A’s report breached the professional standards expected of a police officer.
