'Really racist' trainee PC would have been sacked

A trainee police officer found to have made racist remarks would have been sacked had he not quit.

James Wood joined Thames Valley Police (TVP) in October 2023 and was based at the force's training centre in Sulhamstead, Berkshire, when colleagues raised concerns about him.

One said he told them that he did not drink alcohol because the last time he did he had been "really racist" and on another occasion was Islamophobic.

A TVP panel found he would have been dismissed for gross misconduct if he had not resigned in March 2024.

Colleagues reported him for writing an offensive comment in response to a TikTok video about vast flooding in Pakistan that claimed hundreds of lives.

Wood, who did not attend a hearing last month, said TVP submitting further information for him to consider about his case in March was "verging on harassment".

He requested that it did not contact him again and that if that was not respected, he would consider taking legal action against it.

The panel said Wood's conduct was "deeply offensive and strikes at the heart of everything that the police stands for in terms of fairness, respect and impartiality".