A FORMER Essex Police special constable has been found guilty of gross misconduct after sharing posts containing offensive language on Twitter.

It was alleged that Special Constable Kieren Morrison retweeted 22 posts which contained language which was offensive, discriminatory and derogatory between 2018 and 2019.

The posts were retweeted from a personal account while the officer was off duty.

He resigned as a special constable on May 5 this year.

He was accused of breaching the standards of professional behaviour relating to 'authority, respect and courtesy, equality and diversity, and discreditable conduct' at a misconduct hearing held virtually on June 2.

The Chief Constable found the allegations proven.

The panel said the officer would have been dismissed without notice if he had not already resigned, .

Chief Constable BJ Harrington said: “The public of Essex and I rightly expect the very highest standards from our officers in how they conduct themselves on or off duty.

"The views and language expressed in the posts retweeted by former Special Constable Kieren Morrison have absolutely no place whatsoever within Essex Police.

“They risk damaging the relationships we have with communities across the county and could discourage people from reporting crime or applying to work for us.”

The former special constable will now be included on the College of Policing barred list, which prevents him from working for the police in the future.