Requested CCTV footage
A solicitor has been found guilty of impersonating a police officer to obtain CCTV footage of his ex-girlfriend while she was dining at Nando’s.
Conor Johnstone, director of MAJ Law, is a motoring specialist solicitor who calls himself “the Legal Missile” and defends drink drivers.
Johnstone contacted a Nando’s restaurant in Warrington in July last year, the court heard, introducing himself as “PC Matt Gregory” and claiming to be from Cheshire Constabulary. He said there had been an incident involving two customers the day before and that he needed CCTV footage, according to the Daily Mail.
Gaby Ball, the Nando’s worker who took the call, was busy at the time, so Johnstone was asked to follow up by email. He did so later that evening, sending a message from the address “matt.gregory@cheshirepolice.uk” asking for the footage.
Ball reportedly told the Leeds Magistrates Court, “Everything seemed normal — it was believable that he was a police officer.”
The email included a the Cheshire Constabulary Crest, a fake badge number and job title (“Family liaison officer with the domestic violence unit”).
After the emails bounced back, suspicious staff contacted the police directly, only to discover that ‘PC Gregory’ didn’t exist. Johnstone made further attempts to contact the Nando’s branch after this discovery, and was recorded asking for the CCTV footage.
Real officers then traced the phony request back to Johnstone who denied wrongdoing when confronted with the evidence.
During the trial, Johnstone denied that he had wanted to spy on his pregnant ex-partner, and claimed that she was behind it.
The two magistrates remained unconvinced and found him guilty of impersonating a police officer. He is due to be sentenced next month.
Johnstone did not respond to Legal Cheek‘s request for comment however reports elsewhere state that he plans to appeal the ruling.
