London’s metropolitan police have for three years employed a serial burglar as a police constable, after the man simply lied about his past, The Daily Telegraph reported on Friday.
The 34-year-old officer, who was patrolling the streets of Belgravia, one of the British capital’s most exclusive areas, has been suspended while investigations continue.
Senior officers at Scotland Yard were reported to be embarrassed and furious at the security lapse.
A senior police officer said: ”It is hard to believe that he got through the checks. He has a form as long as your arm with some fairly serious convictions. There are big questions being asked about who did which checks, if anyone did them at all.”
The force is responsible not only for policing the capital, but for national counter-terrorist operations and for protecting government officials and VIPs.
The unnamed officer comes from Northern Ireland, where he was arrested several times between 1985 and 1990. – Sapa-DPA