Five London police officers sacked for posting photos of members of the public online

They were taken covertly and posted with 'disrespectful' comments

The Metropolitan Police sacked the unnamed officers after a misconduct hearing (Getty)

Five London police officers have been sacked for secretly photographing members of the public and sharing the images with “disrespectful” comments on social media.

The unnamed constables were dismissed without notice by Scotland Yard today for what it called “discreditable conduct”.

They were found to have breached the Metropolitan Police’s standards regarding “conduct and authority, respect and courtesy” in a misconduct hearing.

While on duty in the borough of Camden, the officers covertly took numerous photos of members of the public and colleagues and then posted them on social media, a spokesperson said.

They shared the pictures with comments which the board described as “disrespectful” and, in one case, “predatory”.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Fiona Taylor, from the force’s directorate of Professionalism, said: “This was disgraceful behaviour from a small group of officers and it is only right and just that they have been dismissed from the Met.

“We expect the very highest standards of behaviour from our officers and when they fall short of those standards they can expect to be held to account.”

A sixth PC was issued with a final written warning and another constable facing similar allegations was arrested in February last year.

He was released with no further action in the criminal investigation but a misconduct probe continued until he resigned in December.