Nikki Holland, formerly the director of investigations at the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA), has been dismissed from her role for security breaches, according to the agency. Holland, who had previously held senior roles at South Wales and Merseyside police forces, was responsible for specialist investigations at the NCA, including child abuse and people smuggling. Upon appearing before a misconduct panel, Holland was found to have committed gross misconduct. The NCA stated in a released statement that “former director of investigations Nikki Holland has been found to have committed gross misconduct” and that “while the panel did not find any malign intent in the breaches, the NCA expects the highest standards of conduct from all of our officers. Where those standards are not met, appropriate action will be taken.” Holland’s appointment as assistant chief constable at South Wales police was previously queried by MP Elfyn Llwyd, as a probe and subsequent report conducted by Holland on the police force had yet to be released.
Holland’s dismissal comes as a shock, given her impressive track record in law enforcement. She was awarded the Queen’s Police Medal for her work in south Wales, and during her tenure, she was responsible for investigating major crimes, force intelligence, and regional extremism and terrorism. After leaving Wales for Merseyside in 2015, Holland took up a role at the NCA in 2017, leading the agency’s probes into economic crime and drug dealing via county lines.
Though the breach of security that led to Holland’s dismissal was not elaborated on, the NCA’s statement suggests that the agency takes security very seriously and maintains a high level of standards among its officers. Holland’s dismissal is a reflection of this, even though the panel did not uncover any malicious intent on Holland’s part in her breach
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More