Police chief who exposed breast waits to hear if she keeps £109,000-a-year job

A police chief who bared her breast in a drunken scandal dubbed "Boobgate" will discover if she keeps her £109,000-a-year job.

Assistant Chief Constable Rebekah Sutcliffe told Superintendent Sarah Jackson that her "credibility was zero" after she had a "boob job" and berated her as a "laughing stock" who would be judged professionally "on the size of her tits" during the drunken tirade.

She then went on to pull down the front of her dress to expose her left breast to her Greater Manchester Police (GMP) colleague and say: "Look at these, look at these, these are the breasts of someone who has had three children. They are ugly but I don't feel the need to pump myself full of silicone to get self-esteem."

A disciplinary panel found her to have breached the standards of professional behaviour relating to respect and courtesy and discreditable conduct, but recommended she should not be sacked, following a gross misconduct hearing late last year.

Today, the hearing will sit again to determine what disciplinary action will be imposed.

The disciplinary panel consisting of chair Rachel Crasnow QC, Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary Sir Tom Winsor and independent member Alastair Cannon found her gross misconduct had taken Ms Sutcliffe to "the very precipice of dismissal".

But they recommended to GMP Deputy Chief Constable Ian Pilling that she should receive a final written warning. Mr Pilling is not bound by their recommendation and his decision is final.

Ms Sutcliffe, 47, admitted misconduct in failing to treat Ms Jackson with respect or courtesy and that she abused her position and authority.

She also acknowledged that her actions discredited the police service.

However, she had denied it amounted to gross misconduct.

Ms Sutcliffe, who was the most senior female Greater Manchester Police officer at the time, verbally attacked her younger subordinate following a gala dinner at the national senior women in policing conference last May.

The haranguing in the early hours of May 6 at Manchester's Hilton Hotel concluded when Ms Sutcliffe told her colleague she was no longer going to support a further promotion for her.

Ms Jackson, who was appointed by Ms Sutcliffe as a temporary superintendent in a secondment role, later said she was "shocked, mortified, embarrassed and ashamed" at the comments made by her superior.

Ms Jackson, who has since transferred to Cumbria Constabulary, had suffered "great anxiety from the night itself and since".

The hearing is scheduled for 10am at GMP headquarters.