Nursing and Midwifery Council determination — substantive hearing

NMC panel suspends nurse Levi Whalley for 12 months over drug importation conviction

A Nursing and Midwifery Council panel has suspended nurse Levi Whalley for 12 months after she was convicted of being concerned in the fraudulent evasion of prohibition of the importation of a class B drug. The panel found her fitness to practise impaired on public interest grounds alone.

MedicWatch editorial · Published 28 July 2026 · Updated 29 July 2026

Suspension (suspended from practice) — 1 year

Added to MedicWatch: 29 July 2026Report a correction

What does “suspended from practice” mean?

A suspension is a fixed-term pause on the right to practise. The practitioner cannot work in the regulated profession during the suspension. At the end of the period the suspension may be extended, replaced with another sanction, or lifted on review.

Concerning Levi Whalley, nurse (Nursing and Midwifery Council 19H1975E).

Decision date: 28 July 2026 · Hearing started 27 July 2026 and ended 28 July 2026

In plain English

The NMC's Fitness to Practise Committee found that Levi Whalley, a registered nurse, was convicted at Blackburn Magistrates Court on 24 February 2025 of being concerned in the fraudulent evasion of prohibition of the importation of a class B drug. The panel found her fitness to practise impaired on public interest grounds only, noting no clinical or public protection concerns, and imposed a 12-month suspension order with a review, plus an 18-month interim suspension order.

Charges

The charge was: 'That you a registered nurse: 1. On 24 February 2025 at Blackburn Magistrates Court was convicted of the following offence: a. Concerned in the fraudulent evasion of prohibition of the importation of a class B drug. And in light of the above your fitness to practise is impaired by reason of your conviction.' The cover page records charges 1a and 1b as facts proved, and the type of case as conviction. The panel recorded that the registrant was arrested at Birmingham Airport on 9 December 2023 after Border Force officers found 38 packages weighing 19 kilos containing cannabis, and was sentenced on 2 April 2025 to 16 months imprisonment suspended for 18 months, with rehabilitation requirements and 80 hours of unpaid work. The suspended sentence period concludes on 1 October 2026.

Findings

The registrant admitted the charges and the panel found the facts proved by way of admission and on the basis of the certificate of conviction, in accordance with Rules 31(2) and (3). Applying the Grant test, the panel found limbs (b) and (c) engaged with regard to the past: the actions brought the profession into disrepute and breached fundamental tenets of the nursing profession. The panel concluded that a finding of impairment was not necessary on public protection grounds, noting the conviction related to matters outside clinical practice, that there were no concerns relating to clinical practice, and that the NMC did not suggest public protection concerns. On public interest, the panel considered the importation of a large quantity of class B drugs to be a serious drug-related offence and a specified offence under NMC guidance. It found insight into personal triggers, remorse and remediation, but limited insight into how the conduct undermined public confidence in the profession and professional standards. The panel determined that fitness to practise was currently impaired on public interest grounds. Parts of the hearing were held in private under Rule 19 because of references to health and personal life.

Mitigating factors

The panel took into account the following mitigating features: early admission of the facts; effort to prevent the situation occurring again and efforts to put personal challenges right; insight into personal challenges (detail heard in private); a reflective account written by the registrant demonstrating remorse and regret; and two further features recorded in private.

Aggravating factors

The panel took into account the following aggravating features: there was personal financial gain; deliberate breaches of the Code; and limited insight in relation to the impact of the registrant's actions on public confidence in the nursing profession and the professional standards expected of a nurse.

Source

All facts on this page are drawn from the publicly published Nursing and Midwifery Council determination linked below. MedicWatch does not editorialise the regulator’s findings.

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