LONDON: A British police officer has been suspended amid allegations that he passed information to staff at the Algerian Embassy in London, the Independent reported on Wednesday.
The officer will face a misconduct hearing on Sept. 26 over claims he had “an improper relationship” with embassy staff between March 2019 and December 2020 after his involvement in an investigation had finished.
It is also alleged that he passed information to embassy staff without a proper policing purpose during the first three months.
His communications were neither correctly reported nor recorded.
The officer is also accused of examining a criminal intelligence report and a crime report regarding his neighbor despite having no involvement in the investigation and therefore no right to view the documents.
The disciplinary hearing, which will last until Oct. 4, will assess whether the officer’s conduct amounted to breaches of the UK police’s standards of professional behavior with respect to confidentiality, orders and instructions, duties and responsibilities, and honesty and integrity.
If proven, the officer, who is now on paid suspension, will be considered to have committed gross misconduct and be fired.
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson told the Independent that the officer’s identity would be kept hidden following an application filed by his lawyers over the sensitivity of his job.
