A special constable who had more than 300 indecent images of children on his phone has today been sacked with immediate effect.

Linford Braithwaite, who was based in the Barking and Dagenham operational command unit, was fired for gross misconduct due to his “persistent and systematic use” of extreme adult porn sites.

He was absent from the Met special case misconduct hearing but has previously admitted downloading porn while denying intentionally downloading images of naked children or knowing they were on his device.

Braithwaite was arrested and charged with five counts of making and one charge of possessing 100 indecent images of children on his phone last year, but criminal proceedings were dropped this year due to lack of forensic evidence.

Giving evidence at State Empress Building in West London, Sgt Liz Barrett explained how Braithwaite had scored seven out of ten on an IT skills test, suggesting it was “incongruous” that he didn’t understand how the 316 images appeared on his phone.

“He has admitted going on not illegal, extreme porn sites, aware of the content of what could be downloaded,” she explained.

“His persistent and systematic use of these resulted in him being arrested for the possession of indecent images. He was aware of what could have happened and was reckless in his use of these sites.”

Assistant commissioner Helen King concluded that dismissal was the “only” option.

“The public has the right to trust police officers,” she said. “The material found on his [Braithwaite’s] phone clearly demonstrates the special constable breached that trust.”

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