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Met Police officers who went to McDonald's on way to suicide call face misconduct hearing

Misconduct hearing: The two officers face disciplinary action over the time it took to reach the emergency call
Misconduct hearing: The two officers face disciplinary action over the time it took to reach the emergency call

Two police officers who stopped at McDonald's for tea en route to an emergency call about a suicidal woman in east London will face a gross misconduct hearing.

Fahima Begum was found hanged at her home in Poplar, after a friend called 999 to say she had sent him a suicidal text and was not answering her door.

The original call to the ambulance service was referred to police and officers discovered the 22-year-old dead in the early hours of April 16 2015.

The police watchdog said the delay between police accepting the call and attending Ms Begum's home was "significant", and referred the matter for a two-day hearing later this month.

The call was given the second-highest grading, meaning officers must get to the scene within 60 minutes, but regulations state they should attend as soon as possible, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said.

An investigation showed that the officers, PC Gavin Bateman and PC Tony Stephenson, stopped to buy cups of tea before driving to a roundabout where they waited for 24 minutes and contacted the concerned friend.

However, an inquest on November 4 2015 found Ms Begum was dead before the 999 call was made.

The IPCC said they found no cases to answer in relation to the call handlers.

Commission delegate Colin Dewar, who headed the IPCC investigation, said: "Our investigation established a significant delay between the officers accepting the call and attending Ms Begum's home.

"It will now be a matter for a panel to determine whether or not the response of the officers breached the standards of professional behaviour."

The hearing will take place in London on February 27 and 28.