Conduct Committee findings: Mr Richard Gregory

A Conduct Committee appointed by The British Psychological Society met on Wednesday 23 April 2008 to hear allegations of professional misconduct against Mr Richard Gregory a Chartered Psychologist at the Society’s London Offices, 30 Tabernacle Street, EC2A 4UE.

Over the course of the hearing the Committee heard evidence that, in breach of Clause 5.8 of the Code of Conduct, Mr Gregory wrongly claimed credit for the research and intellectual property of others or did not give due credit to the contribution of others in the collaborative work he produced for the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB).

Also the committee heard evidence that in breach of Clause 1 of the Code of Conduct he failed to conduct himself in a manner so as to not bring into disrepute the discipline and the profession of psychology. In particular having reproduced sections of another author’s work or paraphrased the same without permission and without accrediting correct ownership this caused the RSSB to remove the published work from its website resulting in loss and damage to RSSB’s reputation.
Mr Gregory was present at the proceedings and chose to represent himself.

After hearing Mr Gregory’s mitigating circumstances the Committee found both charges proven and issued a severe reprimand for what the chair described as a "cavalier and incompetent attitude" by failing to take proper steps to find out the true author of the work.

The allegations were referred to the Conduct Committee by the Society’s Investigatory Committee. The Conduct Committee will consist of two non-psychologist representatives from other professional and regulatory bodies, plus one member of the Society.

PR1426