District judge sacked after court staff accused him of 'unwanted physical contact' and sending 'highly sexualised image'

By ANDY DOLAN, GENERAL REPORTER Published: 13:11, 4 June 2026 | Updated: 13:15, 4 June 2026 An ‘overly familiar’ district judge has been sacked after a complaint that he sent a colleague a 'highly sexualised image'. District Judge Andrew Simpson has been removed from office for gross misconduct because of the 'wholly inappropriate' behaviour, which allegedly also included 'unwanted physical contact' and referring to himself and colleagues in ‘highly inappropriate terms’. A disciplinary panel recommended a reprimand — the most serious sanction short of dismissal — but Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr and Lord Chancellor David Lammy concluded Judge Simpson’s position was untenable due to the ‘seriousness of the misconduct’. An investigation found the judge had abused his position, and hadn't recognised the power imbalance between himself and court staff. The Judicial Conduct Investigations Office (JCIO) received a complaint about the judge, who was based in Newcastle. It claimed he had 'behaved inappropriately towards a number of staff'. A statement from the JCIO publicising the result of the investigation said: ‘It was alleged he engaged in overly familiar and unprofessional conduct, including contacting staff via text and social media in relation to non-work matters, sending photographs from social events attended outside work, including one that included a highly sexualised image’. It added that other allegations included ‘unwanted physical contact, and sending an email from his judicial email account which referred to himself and judicial colleagues in highly inappropriate terms.’ The Royal Courts of Justice in London, where the JCIO is based Judge Simpson accepted the substance of some of the allegations, but he denied having 'any improper intent'. He said that in some instances, he was trying to support or cheer up staff in 'difficult periods'. The judge questioned the motivations of the people who supported the complaints. He said that he was 'consistently polite and friendly' and sought to engage with all court staff. Judge Simpson admitted that 'certain behaviours were inappropriate' and said they wouldn't be repeated. An investigation found that his 'intentions were not improper', but 'his actions were seriously misguided' and he had not recognised the power imbalance between himself and his staff. The JCIO said they found that his behaviour was 'repeated, involved an abuse of his position, caused distress to staff, and had a detrimental impact on the working environment and on the reputation of the judiciary'. Baroness Carr and Mr Lammy concluded that the judge’s ‘unfounded challenge to the motivation of those supporting the complaint was an aggravating factor’. They were also not satisfied that he had demonstrated sufficient insight into the seriousness of his conduct and concluded that removal from office was the ‘appropriate and proportionate sanction’. It said the Guide to Judicial Conduct and Statement of Expected Behaviour for the judiciary emphasises the importance of helping to foster a positive working environment and treating people with dignity and respect.  The JCIO said 'Judges are advised to be mindful of the authority they have and careful not to abuse it, and to be aware of how their words and behaviour can affect others.' No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.