A Metropolitan Police officer, PC Matthew Cosgrove, has been sacked from the force and ordered to pay over £2,000 by the court following his conviction for harassing his wife, Clair Bolton. PC Cosgrove, aged 45, residing at Shelduck Close in Rochester, was found guilty of harassment in a trial held at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on September 27 last year.

After a subsequent misconduct hearing conducted on December 13, PC Cosgrove, who resides in Kent, was dismissed from the force without notice. An outcome summary, available on the Met Police website, cited “Gross Misconduct proven for discreditable conduct following the officer’s conviction for Harassment” and “Dismissal without notice.

Court records reveal that PC Cosgrove is also obligated to pay £2,156, comprising £1,000 in compensation to his victim, £1,000 in prosecution costs, and a £156 victim surcharge. Additionally, he has been prohibited from contacting Ms Bolton for a period of two years, except for arranging childcare through an intermediary.

The charge against PC Cosgrove indicated that the harassment occurred between June 23 and August 8, 2022. During this period, he pursued a course of conduct that amounted to the harassment of Clair Cosgrove, now Clair Bolton, and which he either knew or ought to have known constituted harassment, as his communication was deemed excessive in nature.