UK police chief sacked after AI detects intimate images on work phone

The head of London’s Metropolitan Police Special Constabulary, James Deller, has been dismissed after artificial intelligence helped uncover his misuse of an official phone to capture intimate photographs.

According to Sky News, investigators discovered that Deller photographed two intimate images of a woman sent to his personal phone through WhatsApp’s disappearing-message feature.

The incidents occurred between July and August 2025.

He subsequently transferred the copied photographs to his personal device before deleting them from his police-issued phone.

The misconduct was uncovered during Project Galatasaray, an operation using Palantir’s AI-powered Foundry system to identify corruption and misconduct.

Deller was dismissed following an accelerated disciplinary hearing on Friday and will be barred from future police service.

Commander Pete Stevens condemned his conduct, saying, “His actions were an abuse of the trust put in him, and it is right that he is no longer able to serve in policing.”

The Metropolitan Police said the technology helped investigators identify evidence of misconduct.