Connor Johnstone faces a Solicitors Regulation Authority investigation
The Leeds Magistrates’ Court in the UK has slapped Greater Manchester solicitor Connor Johnstone with a 12-month community order and an order to finish 260 hours of supervised unpaid work after he was found guilty of posing as a police officer to obtain CCTV footage from grilled chicken chain restaurant Nando’s.
The judgment was handed down last month after a one-day trial, and the sentence was issued on Monday August 3. The court was told that on July 22, 2025, staff at a Warrington Nando’s were contacted by a man who introduced himself as police constable Matthew Gregory of the Cheshire Police’s domestic violence unit. “Gregory” claimed that he was conducting an investigation into a man and a woman who had dined at the restaurant on July 21, 2025 and therefore needed urgent access to CCTV footage.
He presented what appeared to be a Cheshire Police email address. A staff member told “Gregory” to sign a CCTV footage release form. On July 25, 2025, another staff member checked the footage and tried to contact him to confirm the couple’s presence in the restaurant.
When the emails bounced back, staff called the Cheshire Police, who then informed them that there was no police officer named “Matthew Gregory” in the Cheshire Constabulary. An investigation led officers to Johnstone, who had temporarily bought the email address he provided to Nando’s staff. The solicitor had listed his date of birth, phone number, and address while purchasing the domain.
Johnstone would not answers questions asked of him at a police interview, though it came to light that one of the diners Johnstone had wanted footage of was apparently known to him. Detective constable Darroch of the protecting vulnerable people unit slammed Johnstone’s actions in a statement, where he pointed out that Johnstone’s impersonation had permanently damaged the solicitor’s own name.
“You do not have to be a solicitor to know that impersonating a police officer is a very serious offence, so Connor Johnstone will have been well aware that his actions were illegal,” Darroch said in the statement. “Under the guise of this persona, and armed with a false email that would have looked legitimate to the uninitiated, Johnstone took advantage of two employees who were simply looking to assist with what they thought was an official police investigation.”
The Law Society Gazette reported that the Solicitors Regulation Authority was launching an investigation into Johnstone. Per the SRA register, Johnstone was admitted to the roll in March 2016 and practised with a northwest-based criminal law boutique.
