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  "path": "/news/newcastle-news-judge-sacked-sexualised-image-court-colleague",
  "publishedAt": "2026-06-04T21:41:19.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.gbnews.com",
  "tags": [
    "Surrey university plunged into terror as Saudi ex-student 'shoots man with crossbow'",
    "David Lammy gives ancient court new name in ‘modernisation’ drive",
    "Syrian-born Bondi Beach hero who disarmed gunman charged with domestic violence",
    "The GB News Editorial Charter"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n\nA judge has been sacked from his position following an investigation by the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office into allegations of \"highly sexualised image\" sent to a court employee.\n\nDistrict judge Andrew Simpson, who served at the Newcastle Civil and Family Courts and Tribunals Centre, was found to have engaged in conduct that was \"wholly inappropriate\" and \"represented a serious failure to meet the standards expected\".\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nLady Chief Justice Baroness Carr and Lord Chancellor David Lammy determined his actions constituted gross misconduct involving \"a very serious failure of integrity\", concluding his service was \"no longer tenable\".\n\nThe investigation was prompted by complaints that Simpson had \"behaved inappropriately towards a number of staff\" at the court.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nTRENDING\n\nStories\n\nVideos\n\nYour Say\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nAllegations included claims of \"unwanted physical contact\", alongside \"overly familiar and unprofessional conduct\" in his interactions with colleagues.\n\nThe complaint further alleged Simpson had shared photographs from social gatherings held outside the workplace, among them the sexualised image at the centre of the case.\n\nAdditionally, he was accused of using \"highly inappropriate terms\" to describe himself and fellow staff members in correspondence sent via his official judicial email account.\n\nSimpson accepted that some of his behaviour had been inappropriate, but maintained he had no \"improper intent\".\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nA disciplinary panel had initially recommended Simpson receive a formal reprimand, the most severe sanction available short of dismissal.\n\nThey concluded \"whilst his intentions were not improper, his actions were seriously misguided\".\n\nHowever, Baroness Carr and Mr Lammy overruled this recommendation, determining Simpson's conduct \"amounted to gross misconduct which involved a very serious failure of integrity\".\n\n### LATEST DEVELOPMENTS\n\n\n\n\n  * Surrey university plunged into terror as Saudi ex-student 'shoots man with crossbow'\n  * David Lammy gives ancient court new name in ‘modernisation’ drive\n  * Syrian-born Bondi Beach hero who disarmed gunman charged with domestic violence\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThe pair noted that his behaviour had been repeated over time, and represented an abuse of his judicial position.\n\nThey further observed his actions had caused distress to staff members, created a harmful working environment, and damaged the reputation of the judiciary as a whole.\n\nSimpson himself described his approach to communication as \"informal but consistently polite and friendly\".\n\nHe claimed certain incidents were simply efforts to \"support or cheer up staff during difficult periods\".\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nHe also cast doubt on the motivations of individuals who had backed the complaints against him.\n\nThis challenge proved counterproductive, with Baroness Carr and Mr Lammy finding his \"unfounded challenge to the motivation of those supporting the complaint\" only aggravated the situation.\n\nUltimately, they concluded they were \"not satisfied that he had demonstrated sufficient insight into the seriousness of his conduct\".\n\nSimpson had been admitted to the Roll of Solicitors in 2000 and took up his district judge role in December 2022.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n**Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter**",
  "title": "Judge sacked after sending 'highly sexualised image' to court colleague"
}