Police in Northampton probe 'malicious' fake letter claiming to be sent by air ambulance chief

A letter sent to staff of the air ambulance charity covering Northampton is under police investigation, after bosses said it had been faked.
The Air Ambulance Service says a 'malicious' letter purporting to be from one of its directors to staff, was a fake.The Air Ambulance Service says a 'malicious' letter purporting to be from one of its directors to staff, was a fake.
The Air Ambulance Service says a 'malicious' letter purporting to be from one of its directors to staff, was a fake.

The letter was claiming to have been written by Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance's human resources director, Alexandra Pope, and referred to a loan she had received from the charity in 2013.

But the charity says the letter, sent in December, had been fabricated and has been referred to Northamptonshire Police.

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A spokesman for the charity said: ‘’We are aware of this letter and we have reported it to the police as malicious.

"As it is the subject of a police investigation it would be inappropriate for us to comment further. ‘’

In 2015 the Air Ambulance Service came under fire from the Charities Commission when inspectors discovered Ms Pope had been given a £27,000 loan from charity funds.

The Air Ambulance Service said the funds, approved in 2013 by chief executive Andy Williamson, were “to retain a high-performing member of staff", according to the charity's publicly available accounts for 2013.

At the time the charity added that Ms Pope was repaying the loan and payments were up-to-date, though inspectors said it was “not clear on what legal basis the loan was made”.