A councillor will work with police to "eradicate" discrimination, after it was revealed a former officer was found guilty of gross misconduct after sending homophobic and racist messages.

Cllr Arun Mummalaneni says that "a very small minority of people continue to use reprehensible and abhorrent language", and that he is "determined" to work to stamp it out.

As previously reported, 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.

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.

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

Reacting to the news, Cllr Mummalaneni, a former chair of the Basingstoke Multicultural Forum, said: "I am very proud of our diverse society but unfortunately there still exists a very small minority of people who continue to use reprehensible and abhorrent language.

"It is even more regrettable when these words are expressed by professionals who have been entrusted with the duty and responsibility of upholding the laws of the land.

"The police profession is treated as one of those with the highest of responsibility in our community and officers need to model its ideals.

"I intend to meet/talk with the police [and crime] commissioner to discuss the severity of this officer’s actions but I have full confidence in Hampshire Constabulary in the fair handling of this delicate and sensitive issue.

"I am also determined to work with the police in working to eradicate any sort of discrimination whether through continued professional training or stricter vetting procedures during the recruitment stages."

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, who cannot be named for legal reasons, 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.”

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.