A police officer has been dismissed after it was found he had lied about his time with the French Foreign Legion.

When PC Kasra Rafeian applied to join Essex Police in April 2017 he included a reference purporting to be from his previous employer, the French Foreign Legion.

However it was alleged this reference was untruthful, providing false details about PC Rafeian’s service in the Legion.

He was also accused of lying in an interview about his application and when asked to provide handwriting samples as part of the investigation the panel found he had made an attempt to disguise his normal handwriting and frustrate that investigation.

A misconduct hearing was held at Chelmsford Civic Centre between from Tuesday to Thursday with a panel led by Independent Legally Qualified chair Neil Dalton.

The panel found all the allegations against PC Rafeian were proven and that he had breached standards of behaviour in relation to ‘honesty and integrity’ and ‘discreditable conduct’.

He was found guilty of gross misconduct and has been dismissed with immediate effect.

Detective Superintendent Dean Chapple, head of the force's professional standards department, said: “Kasra Rafeian was suspended from all policing duties when concerns regarding his application to join Essex Police were raised.

“When interviewed by officers from the professional standards department he gave an account and handwriting samples which the panel found to be a lie and an attempt to frustrate that investigation.

“His attempts to fool the investigators failed and the panel also found his account during the hearing this week to be implausible and not credible.

“Honesty and integrity are of the utmost importance to us and it is something the public expect from all those working in policing, it is in fact the foundation of the trust we have with the public we serve.

“Had Kasra Rafeian been allowed to continue as a police officer, his entire career would have been based upon a lie."