The Information Commissioner has been asked to review whether Government House holds records of any communications with the British police force that employed Stephen Corbishley before he came to Bermuda.

Mr Corbishley was appointed by former governor John Rankin as the island’s Commissioner of Police in May 2018, when he was a chief superintendent at Kent Police in England.

He was brought here on a five-year contract but quit the high-profile, six-figure salary post suddenly in October 2021 while under investigation for gross misconduct. Mr Corbishley denied any wrongdoing.

Former deputy governor Tom Oppenheim wrote in response to a public access to information request from The Royal Gazette that he conducted a search and did not find any correspondence between Kent Police and Government House concerning Mr Corbishley.

Andrew Murdoch, the new governor, reviewed Mr Oppenheim’s decision and upheld his response. The Gazette has asked the Information Commissioner’s Office to review the matter.

The newspaper asked the ICO to review the search for records conducted by Government House, arguing that if relevant records did exist their release could help to promote greater public understanding of the Commissioner of Police recruitment process, as well as the decision taken to hire Mr Corbishley.

Under Bermuda’s Constitution, the Governor has the power to appoint a Commissioner of Police after consultation with the Public Service Commission.

The Gazette asked the secretary to the PSC whether the commission carried out vetting, including reference checks, on Mr Corbishley. “The Public Service Commission does not get involved in the recruitment of police commissioners,” she replied.

A freedom of information request to Kent Police for records about Mr Corbishley’s employment there was rejected last October on the grounds that it related to personal information.

Mr Corbishley’s alleged gross misconduct became the subject of an inquiry ordered by Mr Rankin’s successor, Rena Lalgie, after complaints by Robert Butterfield, a police constable who was suspected of leaking a court document about Mr Corbishley’s marriage breakdown.

The inquiry was discontinued after Mr Corbishley resigned with two years left on his contract.

The Bermuda Police Service have since admitted unlawfully obtaining a warrant to search the home of Pc Butterfield and that of a police sergeant during the criminal inquiry into the leaked court document. Both officers received out-of-court settlements totalling hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Government House declined to comment for this article.

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