Officer used police parking to avoid holiday fees

Mr Edey misled his colleagues over his actions, the tribunal heard

A former police officer has been found to have committed gross misconduct after he left his car at an airport's armed policing base to avoid parking fees during his holiday.

Former Bedfordshire Police PC John-Luke Edey was flying to Prague from London Luton Airport when he parked his personal vehicle in an area reserved for on-duty armed officers.

A misconduct report detailed how he attempted to mislead colleagues who challenged him and continued to maintain the false account to this day.

Chief Constable Trevor Rodenhurst concluded the efforts to conceal wrongdoing were "far more serious".

Mr Edey would have been dismissed had he not already resigned, the chief constable said.

He wrote: "I have an absolute standard when it comes to the expectation of my officers, and there is no room for officers who abuse their position and whose actions lack honesty and integrity.

"The officer had a number of opportunities to admit and correct his error of judgement in seeking to park his car for free at the Armed Policing Unit base, but he failed to take them."

Mr Edey was found to have breached professional standards, namely discreditable conduct alongside honesty and integrity.

The report said the former officer had no previous conduct issues in his four years of service but his actions could undermine public confidence in the police.

He was placed on the College of Policing's barred list.