Bedfordshire Police officer who phoned in sick to take holiday aboard would have been sacked if he hadn't quit

A Bedfordshire Police officer who went on a holiday after he phoned in sick would have been dismissed for his “dishonesty”, the force has said.

PC James Asling had already resigned before the hearing this week , which heard he had pretended to be sick in September after having had his leave request formally denied twice.

He was caught after a supervisor tried to call him and recognised the international dialling tone. The force said that Mr Asling had initially denied leaving the country but later he admitted he had gone on holiday.

At a hearing held at Bedfordshire Police HQ on Wednesday, he was found to have breached the Standards of Professional Behaviour for Honesty and Integrity and Orders and Instructions. Chief Constable Trevor Rodenhurst said he would have been dismissed and will be placed the College of Policing Barred List banning him from returning to policing or other similar professions.

He said: "James Asling’s actions would have undoubtedly left resourcing pressures impacting on public service and his colleagues. In certain circumstance it is possible to escalate refused leave requests through the chain of command. However, instead the officer chose to set about a course of conduct which went against that instruction and included providing dishonest information and answers to both his supervising sergeant and inspector on more than one occasion.

“In my view, this was a calculated course of action that falls far below the standards I expect, and which are of paramount importance for a police officer."