ICO rejects Pati request into Corbishley inquiry
An inquiry ordered by the Governor into gross misconduct claims against Stephen Corbishley, the former Commissioner of Police, “was discontinued without any resolution of the allegations against him”, it has been revealed.
Information Commissioner Gitanjali Gutierrez said the investigation, which began in March 2021, was still at an “early stage” when Mr Corbishley suddenly resigned five months later with almost two years left to run on his contract.
Ms Gutierrez rejected an attempt by The Royal Gazette to have Government House release the inquiry’s report to the public, explaining there was not one, “only an update to the appropriate authority and not a report of the completed investigation”.
She wrote in a decision due to be released by her office next week that “.. the public does have a strong interest in transparency around decision-making processes.
“Here, Government House has clarified an important misunderstanding concerning the decision that was made in this matter.
“Specifically, Government House explained that what has been referred to as an ‘investigation report’ by [investigator Andrew] Bermingham was not a report at all, but only an update that was provided to the appropriate authority early in the investigation.”
She said she was “satisfied that the balance of the public interest did not require disclosure of the … record”.
Rena Lalgie, the Governor, ordered the inquiry under the Police (Conduct) Orders 2016 after complaints made to Government House about Mr Corbishley by police constable Robert Butterfield.
At the time, Mr Butterfield and another officer were being investigated as part of a criminal inquiry into whether they made public a confidential court document with information about Mr Corbishley’s private life.
The criminal inquiry was later dropped and the two police constables, both suspended on full pay, were reinstated.
Ms Lalgie appointed former policeman Mr Bermingham to investigate allegations that Mr Corbishley identified Mr Butterfield as a public access to information requester and that he passed information gathered during the criminal inquiry into Mr Butterfield to his personal lawyer to pursue a civil claim for damages against him.
Mr Corbishley quit on October 1, 2021, and neither he nor Government House gave any explanation as to why. Ms Lalgie dropped the gross misconduct inquiry.
The former police commissioner later told TNN that he resigned because of family issues which were “more important than professional” and because he wanted a change after taking the Bermuda Police Service “forward a great deal”.
The Gazette understood that Mr Bermingham provided Government House with an investigation report.
The newspaper submitted a Pati request for that report in January 2022, along with requests for the settlement Mr Corbishley received after resigning and any communications he had with Government House in the month before and after he quit.
The request for the Bermingham report was rejected and the Governor upheld that refusal to disclose in March 2022.
The Information Commissioner’s Office then began its review, at the Gazette’s request, to determine if Government House’s reasons for withholding the report were valid.
The public authority argued “ … disclosure could reasonably prejudice the effectiveness of the procedures used in the Bermuda Police Service’s disciplinary investigations and that the balance of the public interest favoured” non-disclosure.
It said Mr Corbishley had not had the chance to respond to the allegations, which were unproven. It told the ICO there was no point continuing the inquiry after the police commissioner quit because the Governor would have no power to take any action.
Ms Gutierrez said the Conduct Orders outlined “a careful process, which safeguards the complainant, witnesses and the officer subject to the disciplinary hearing by ensuring that information is received, considered and tested prior to the submission of a final report to the appropriate authority … and any potential public disclosure … at the conclusion of a proceeding”.
She agreed with Government House that public disclosure of updates — which could include unproven allegations, references to confidential documents and untested witness statements – could “deter individuals from coming forward, have a chilling effect on information that is shared by interviewees, risk unfairly maligning individuals, and lead to distraction or misinformation that detracts from the orderly administration of the process established under the Conduct Orders”.
That, she said, would undermine the effectiveness of the investigation procedures in achieving their purpose.
She said the newspaper’s “compelling arguments” in favour of disclosure were based on the wrong belief that the withheld record was an investigation report which would “shed light on the former Commissioner of Police’s conduct and further accountability”.
“That is not the case,” said Ms Gutierrez, who reviewed the document given to Government House by Mr Bermingham. “Had it been, the outcome of this review might have been different.”
Last year, Ms Gutierrez found that Mr Corbishley’s final employment settlement was not subject to the Public Access to Information Act because it was created by the Attorney- General’s Chambers.
She found that the communications between him and Government House were correctly withheld because they included personal information.
NOTE: This article has been edited to make clear that The Royal Gazette submitted all three Pati requests to Government House.
• To read the latest ICO decision and the two previous decisions concerning Stephen Corbishley, see “Related Media”
