Police to review if ‘homophobic assumptions’ affected an investigation into gay man’s death
Hertfordshire Police say they could open a new investigation if “deemed necessary”
By Aaron Sugg
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has upheld parts of a complaint alleging “homophobic assumptions” influenced the police investigation into the death of a gay man, with the case now reopened as a criminal investigation.
Scott Gough died by suicide at his home in Chandler’s Cross, Watford, Hertfordshire, on 29 March 2024, aged 56.
His death came one day after he allegedly received a blackmail note containing a phone number and the message: “I think it’s in your best interests to give me a call.”
Scott Gough’s partner claimed his death was treated as a “statistic”
As reported by BBC News, his partner, Cameron Tewson, originally made the complaint, describing Hertfordshire Police as treating the investigation as “a statistic”.
“From the beginning, it’s been a case of banging my head against a wall, making phone calls and sending emails to try and get officers to take this seriously,” he said.
“It’s always one step forward and two steps back. In many ways, I feel I’ve never had a chance to grieve,” he continued. Tewson believes Gough died after being targeted through the gay dating app Grindr.
IOPC upheld parts of complaint over investigation
The IOPC found that Hertfordshire Police made mistakes during its investigation and “did not fully investigate” Gough’s death, while also finding that the force failed to respond to Tewson’s complaints quickly enough, increasing his distress.
The watchdog upheld two aspects of Tewson’s complaint and ordered Hertfordshire Police’s Professional Standards Department to investigate whether homophobic assumptions influenced the handling of the case.
Bedfordshire Police have reopened the investigation
Bedfordshire Police reopened the case as a criminal investigation in March 2026.
Separately, Hertfordshire Police’s Professional Standards Department began investigating whether homophobic assumptions influenced the original inquiry after the IOPC upheld parts of Tewson’s complaint on 3 July.
The previous position set out by Hertfordshire Police – that an independent review would determine whether a new investigation was necessary – is no longer current.