A Cambridgeshire Police officer has been struck off after he made comments on LBC Radio relating to the rescue of immigrants from the sea.

PC James Roper, who was based at Thorpe Wood Police Station, posted "discriminatory and offensive" comments on a public forum, which was identified as LBC Radio.

The former officer made the following comments with a third party (X) about a news item relating to the rescue of immigrants from the sea:

X: Blood on the hands of government again. Horrible how we treat these desperate people.

PC Roper: Abso-fu****g-lutely not my friend.  They’re not our problem until they make it here so let's not help them.  They all believe in ‘inshallah’ so if it is truly his will they will get here then they will get here.  If it isn’t then their Deity clearly had other plans for them

X: James Roper how do you know that?

PC Roper: Who Muslims? -  X – because I have to deal with them when they jump off the trucks at p’boro services!

PC Roper: X – don’t confuse national ID with religious beliefs

PC Roper: The vast majority of them all follow one particular brand of it bud.

Further, PC Roper included a laughing face emoji to the end of his message exchange.

The Panel found that the LBC was self-evidently a public forum, and concluded that PC Roper would have known that it was public and that his postings were "discriminatory and offensive", and that they would have been viewed by the public.

PC Roper was also found to have used language which "denigrated" persons with learning difficulties when he used the term "t***", as an abbreviation for the word "r*****".

The language, which was used as a shorthand for the military term, "f*** t***", was used during an electronic conversation on a police system (MS Teams) with colleague Inspector Jackman. 

The Panel noted that while the term was used in a self-deprecating manner, it was nevertheless "offensive and discriminatory".

After a two day hearing, PC Roper was found to have breached the Standards of Professional Behaviour in respect of Discreditable Conduct, Authority, Respect and Courtesy, Equality and Diversity and Duties and Responsibilities, amounting to gross misconduct.

Deputy Chief Constable Jane Gyford said: "The language used by the officer was not only offensive but discriminatory and falls below what our communities expect from a police officer

"The conduct that this officer has displayed falls below policing’s professional standards and it is important to show this finding to support the need to maintain public trust and confidence in the Constabulary."