26 July 2023 , 12:52
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A Metropolitan Police officer has admitted sending “grossly offensive” messages of an “indecent, obscene or menacing character”.
Pc Tom Phillips has been suspended from duty after sending five WhatsApp messages in breach of the Communications Act 2003 between April 8 and May 8, 2021. On each occasion he “sent by means of a public electronic communications network a message that was grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character”.
Phillips, 34, from Croydon, south London, pleaded guilty to the charges at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday. The Crown Prosecution Service confirmed that he was originally charged with offences related to alleged racially offensive messages, which he denied.
The officer, who was been part of the force's intelligence branch, was off-duty when the offences occurred. He will be sentenced at the same court on Friday, August 25. His offences are being investigated by the Met Police’s directorate of professional standards.