Woman jailed for faking cancer and sexual assault claims
Louise Gallagher received a four-year, eight-month sentence for perverting the course of justice.
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Louise Gallagher has been sentenced to four years and eight months in prison for perverting the course of justice. The 50-year-old was convicted at Wood Green Crown Court in Haringey on 9 October 2026. She admitted three counts of the offence.
Fabricated Evidence in Employment Tribunals
Louise Gallagher jailed for four years eight months after falsifying evidence in employment lawsuits
The former saleswoman received her sentence at Wood Green Crown Court after admitting three counts of perverting the course of justice
Gallagher's actions involved fabricating evidence during legal claims against her former employers. In a sex discrimination claim against distribution giant Bunzl, she alleged that Transport for London (TfL) held CCTV footage of a sexual assault at Waterloo station. She doctored a genuine TfL email to support this claim, continuing to assert the footage existed even after TfL confirmed it did not. This claim against Bunzl was dismissed, and Gallagher was ordered to pay £8,000 towards the company's legal costs.
In a separate unfair dismissal claim against health product supplier Essity, Gallagher invented a witness to an alleged sexual assault. She created an email account in the fictional witness's name and then sent a false statement to the police while impersonating this individual. This led to the accused man being questioned under caution. Police investigations revealed Gallagher had created the email account and activated the phone herself. Her claim against Essity was struck out after a judge found she had repeatedly provided false evidence.
During her tribunal case against Bunzl, Gallagher also submitted a fake handwritten note purportedly from her GP. The note claimed she had breast cancer that had spread, requiring two years of treatment and stating she was "fighting for her life". While Gallagher had been diagnosed with breast cancer in 2020, the GP named on the note denied writing it to investigators. The Crown Prosecution Service dropped charges related to the invention of the sexual assault allegations themselves, stating the evidence did not meet the criminal test.
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Judge's Remarks and Previous Convictions
Judge Timothy Godfrey described Gallagher's conduct as a "prolonged, blatant, and egregious course of conduct, liable to undermine public justice." He noted her actions were sophisticated and planned, including lying to a tribunal judge under oath. The court heard that both Bunzl and Essity had spent tens of thousands of pounds defending the claims and significant resources investigating the bogus evidence. Gallagher, who is from Marlborough in Wiltshire, has previous convictions for fraud, including theft from an employer in 2015 and using stolen bank details to purchase equestrian equipment in 2014.
Gallagher will serve one-third of her prison sentence before being automatically released. She was ordered to pay £8,000 towards Bunzl's legal costs.
Questions this report answers
+What was Louise Gallagher sentenced to?
Louise Gallagher was sentenced to four years and eight months in prison at Wood Green Crown Court on 9 October 2026. She pleaded guilty to three counts of perverting the course of justice.
+What evidence did Louise Gallagher fabricate?
She fabricated a TfL email claiming CCTV footage existed of a sexual assault at Waterloo station, which TfL confirmed was not real. She also submitted a fake handwritten GP note stating she had breast cancer and needed two years off proceedings.
+Why did Louise Gallagher fabricate evidence?
The court heard Gallagher claimed she produced the fake evidence out of desperation to be believed regarding her sexual assault and harassment allegations against employees of Bunzl and Essity.
+What were the consequences for the companies involved?
Both Bunzl and Essity stated they spent tens of thousands of pounds defending the claims and significant resources investigating evidence that turned out to be bogus. Gallagher was ordered to pay £8,000 towards Bunzl's legal costs.
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