Gross misconduct has been proven against a former police officer who fraudulently claimed sick pay following two car crashes.

Last week a disciplinary body deemed PC Richard Williams would have been dismissed from the force if he had not quit following the incident.

Williams – formerly an officer with the East Area Basic Command Unit which serves Redbridge, Havering and Barking and Dagenham – was given a two-year suspended sentence in November of last year.

He was found guilty of seven counts of fraud after a court heard he had been working as a dog walker while claiming sick pay following car crashes in 2014 and 2015.

The former PC deceived the Metropolitan Police service into believing that he was legitimately sick, receiving almost £80,000 in payments as a result.

On Wednesday, May 13 a Metropolitan Police deemed Williams behaviour to amount to gross misconduct “so serious as to justify dismissal”.

Williams officially resigned from the police service in February 2019 and had he remained a serving officer he would have been dismissed without notice, the panel found.

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