Gatwick sex-on-job policeman sacked

By Andrew Hough

LONDON (Reuters) - A senior police officer who admitted to having sex while on duty has been sacked, the Police watchdog confirmed Tuesday.

Inspector Masood Khan, 41, who worked for the British Transport Police, was dismissed over his tryst with a 43-year-old woman in a room at Gatwick Airport railway station in July 2006.

At a misconduct hearing on Tuesday, he pleaded guilty to one charge of "discredit" under the Police Code of Conduct after originally facing three charges, the Independent Police Complaints Commission said in a statement.

The charge read: "On 23rd July 2006 whilst on duty and in uniform at Gatwick Airport and holding the rank of Police Inspector and duty officer for the London South area of the British Transport Police, you brought discredit upon the police service by having sexual intercourse with the complainant."

The officer, of Coulsdon, south London, had been cleared of criminal charges last August after a trial at London's Southwark Crown Court.

Reports at the time said the inspector had met the woman through an Internet dating Web site, uniformdating.com, and had believed he would be off-duty when he arranged to meet her.

He had kept his earpiece in during the 20-minute rendezvous so he would be in radio contact with his colleagues in case of emergencies.

In a statement, Mehmuda Mian Pritchard, the IPCC commissioner, said the actions were unacceptable.