As the drip-feed of Epstein disclosures fuels ‘collateral damage’, the rush to cry misconduct in public office may be premature. Writing in NLJ this week, David Locke of Hill Dickinson warns that the offence is no catch-all for political embarrassment. It demands a ‘grave departure’ from proper standards, an ‘abuse of the public’s trust’ and conduct ‘sufficiently serious to warrant criminal punishment’
Past cases show a clear thread: direct personal gain. From a council leader enriching himself via a bypass route to a prison governor’s ‘fundamental betrayal of public trust’, courts have focused on monetised abuse.
By contrast, there is as yet no evidence Lord Mandelson received any ‘direct benefit’.
Locke’s warning is stark: when criminal justice bends to ‘the braying mob’, outcomes may be popular—but ‘also wrong’.
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