A HAMPSHIRE police officer has been found guilty of gross misconduct.

The officer, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was sacked after being found to have sent racist and homophobic messages to another colleague who he was in a relationship with.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), which investigates police misconduct cases said that the texts were “deeply offensive” and the officer’s behaviour fell “way below the standards” the community expect from their police service

In 2015 and early 2016, whilst in an intimate relationship with a colleague, Officer X sent the colleague 26 private messages which contained racist and homophobic language.

The force said it was “regrettable” that the messages had taken so long to come to light ading that Officer X has since left the Constabulary to pursue a different career path.

After a gross misconduct hearing organised by Hampshire Constabulary, which finished on June 29, the independently chaired panel found the allegations against him proven.

The former PC will now be placed on a list of former officers who are barred from working for the police service in the future.

The chief constable, chairing the accelerated hearing, said she “understood” the nature of our digital world means that intimate conversations are now in “a cloud in perpetuity”, and there is a wider societal debate about the nature of privacy in a digital age.

As a result, she understood that Article 8 for ex-officer X is cited, but that is qualifiably secondary to the public having confidence in their police service.

She added: “It is not relevant to my consideration that two colleagues, of equal rank, were in an intimate relationship. That is a private matter.

“Notwithstanding that debate, these messages exist and their nature does not attune to the standards and Code of Ethics of policing and of Hampshire Constabulary.

“They are contrary to the Standards of Professional Behaviour relating to Equality & Diversity. This behaviour amounts to Gross Misconduct.

“The nature of these messages is deeply offensive and falls way below the standards our community can rightly expect from their police service.

“To that end, had officer X still been a member of the Constabulary, he would have been dismissed.”