Met Police chief superintendent Peter Ayling said officers investigating Mr Semple's death had been affected by it, "made all the worse by knowing he was a colleague". 

Initially his disappearance was treated as a missing persons investigation but it later emerged that Mr Semple had gone to Brizzi's flat for a sex rendezvous while on duty. 

Mr Ayling continued: "Sadly, it is clear from the investigation that Gordon, a man who had dedicated the last three decades of his life to policing London, was behaving on duty in a way that no police officer should. 

"Gordon held a position of trust, and he broke that trust. 

"However, nothing should distract from the actions of Stefano Brizzi and the blame for Gordon's death lies firmly with this man. A killer whose cold calculated actions are so grotesque they are beyond comprehension."

Brizzi is due to be sentenced at the Old Bailey on 9 December.

In a statement the family of murdered PC Gordon Semple said: " Gordon was a loyal and much loved long term partner, brother, brother in law, uncle, cousin and friend to all. 

"We were devastated when the news broke of Gordon's murder and the circumstances which are still incredibly hard to deal with. It is still insurmountably upsetting. 

"At Gordon's funeral we met many of his friends and work colleagues - we were proud to hear how fondly they thought of Gordon. 

"Gordon will be sadly missed by our family. Gordon, we miss you so much, may you rest in peace."

Image source, Gordon Semple

Tom Symonds
Home Affairs Correspondent

PC Gordon Semple appeared settled in life but he had a secret - a dangerous lifestyle of extreme sexual activity, arranged over the internet and fuelled by drugs.

The London PC's dismembered body was found in the flat of Stefano Brizzi - the IT worker who has been found guilty of his murder by an Old Bailey jury.

The men met using Grindr, the smartphone app millions of gay men use to look up others nearby and send them messages, often to arrange dates or "hook-ups".

Sometimes that can involve finding partners willing to take part in extreme sexual activities while taking drugs, sold or exchanged when users meet up.

"Chemsex", as it is known, is a growing part of gay culture, and the Brizzi trial laid bare its darkest secrets.

Image source, Facebook

Officers found body parts in Brizzi's flat, along with a mask, a dog leash and a copy of the Satanic Bible.

Neighbours had raised the alarm after noticing a putrid smell. 

Investigators said Brizzi may have cooked and eaten parts of Mr Semple but his defence told the court that would not have been possible as the policeman would have been soaked in chemicals.   

To date, Mr Semple's brain and internal organs have not been found.

Brizzi, who is HIV positive, told the court he had struggled with his sexuality growing up in a religious family in Italy, as his uncle was a priest.

He moved to England after university but lost his job at Morgan Stanley because of his drug addiction.

Brizzi said he had been thrown out of a Crystal Meth Anonymous group because he was wearing a Breaking Bad t-shirt.

The shirt had upset the group who felt the show about a chemistry teacher turned drug lord "glorified" crystal meth.

Brizzi said he had been inspired by his favourite TV show, Breaking Bad, to try and get away with killing the police officer.

He said Mr Semple, from Greenhithe in Kent, had died on 1 April during a "sex game gone wrong" when a dog leash he was wearing had slipped, however the court heard it would have taken far longer for him to be strangled than Brizzi's account suggested.

Six days later police officers found Mr Semple's partially dissolved body parts in the bath when they visited Brizzi's flat to investigate reports of a putrid smell emanating from his home.

Image source, PA

The court heard Brizzi had been obsessed with the American TV show Breaking Bad in which the protagonists Walter White and Jesse Pinkman dissolve a rival drug dealer in a bathtub filled with acid.

When police visited Brizzi's flat in south London, he told them how he thought he was "getting away with it" and was planning to finish disposing of the body later that day.

The court was played a video of the police interview in which Brizzi can be heard saying: "As you can see this man was a very big man and all I have left is two buckets." 

Brizzi said he had thrown some of PC Semple's body into the Thames and thrown away his badge and possessions. A human foot was later found nearby close to Bermondsey Wall.

A man who strangled a Met Police officer before trying to dissolve his body in an acid-filled bath has been found guilty of his murder.

Stefano Brizzi, 50, from the Peabody Estate in south London admitted chopping up PC Gordon Semple, 59, when he was high on crystal meth.

The Italian national claimed PC Semple, who he met on the dating app Grindr, had died accidentally during a sex game that went wrong on 1 April.

Jurors at the Old Bailey found Brizzi guilty of murder by a majority verdict earlier of 10 jurors to two and sentencing has been adjourned until 9 December.

Sweden's chief prosecutor questions Wikileaks founder Julian Assange about a 2010 rape allegation.

Italian sadomasochist Stefano Brizzi has been found guilty at the Old Bailey of the murder of 59-year-old PC Gordon Semple. 

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