Nadine Buzzard-Quashie case: Northamptonshire Police contempt case drags on as final review findings pushed back
An independent review into the failures which led to Northamptonshire Police's chief constable being found in contempt of court is still ongoing, with the final report now expected in December.
A report going before the Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Panel on Thursday, September 17, says the final review report is now anticipated to be presented at the panel's December meeting, subject to the requirements of an ongoing Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) investigation.
The review was commissioned after the Court of Appeal found Chief Constable Ivan Balhatchet responsible for contempt over the force's failure to comply with orders to disclose body-worn video footage.
The force was fined £50,000.
The case began after Nadine Buzzard-Quashie requested body-worn video footage relating to her arrest by Northamptonshire Police in September 2021.
She had alleged excessive force had been used during her arrest. Criminal charges brought against her were later discontinued.
The force failed to provide all of the footage she requested, despite an Information Commissioner's Office ruling ordering it to disclose the relevant personal data.
In April 2023, a County Court ordered the force to disclose all relevant footage or explain why any footage was unavailable.
The force failed to comply with that order. Later audit evidence indicated that additional footage did exist despite earlier claims to the contrary.
Following the Court of Appeal judgment, Mr Balhatchet apologised to Ms Buzzard-Quashie and described the force's failings as ‘appalling’.
The matter was also referred to the IOPC.
The IOPC found on two occasions that there was no further action for it to take against the chief constable personally, saying the failings had been carried out by staff acting on his behalf. A separate referral involving three people remains subject to an independent IOPC review.
The Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Danielle Stone commissioned the independent review in November 2025 to establish how and why the failures happened.
The independent adviser for the investigation is Patricia Richardson, a former Chief Crown Prosecutor, who is working alongside Deputy PFCC Marianne Kimani.
The review is looking at issues including leadership, governance, information management, the handling of subject access requests and court orders, and the management and disclosure of body-worn video.
The independent reviewer has now examined a large amount of material, including court rulings, internal police and legal reports, audit reports and information management reviews.
In an initial assessment, the reviewer said: "It is apparent Northamptonshire Police has undertaken a substantial programme of review following the Court of Appeal proceedings and has identified significant organisational failings relating to governance, leadership, information management, disclosure processes and organisational culture."
The reviewer also said ‘considerable work has been undertaken to implement improvements’.
The force has since introduced a programme of improvement work covering staffing, training, governance and oversight, performance management, assurance and accountability.
However, the independent review is not yet complete.
The reviewer has requested a further ‘raft’ of information and documents, including material relating to pre-Court of Appeal governance, information management, performance management, quality assurance, senior management oversight, workloads and training.
The report says the additional material is ‘detailed and comprehensive’ and significant in volume, which has caused delays to the review.
It says the priority is ‘thoroughness and openness, rather than speed’.
The review is also being kept separate from the ongoing IOPC investigation, which is considering potential misconduct and criminal matters.
The Deputy Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Northamptonshire said the final review report is anticipated to be presented to the Police, Fire and Crime Panel at its December meeting, subject to the requirements of the IOPC investigation.