A senior Essex Police officer will face a gross misconduct hearing following an independent investigation into allegations of verbal and physical abuse.

The claims were made against Deputy Chief Constable Matthew Horne, who at the time was based at Essex Police and is now on secondment to the National Crime Agency.

DCC Horne was allegedly verbally and physically abusive towards colleagues, and the case was referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) in January 2017.

Following the conclusion of the investigation in July, the IPPC lead investigator’s opinion is that DCC Horne has a case to answer for gross misconduct relating to allegations that he was verbally and physically abusive towards colleagues on three different occasions.

DCC Home was found to have no case to answer in relation to a further allegation regarding his conduct.

A gross misconduct hearing will be arranged by Essex Police in due course.