A former Met Police officer has been barred from policing after an assault in Romford.

On January 5, 2020, then-PC Archie Payne and another East Area officer responded to reports of a fight in Romford.

During the incident, a 26-year-old man suffered "lacerations" due to being hit over the head with a baton, Scotland Yard said, although this was not by former PC Payne.

However, former PC Payne physically restrained and pushed a second 26-year-old man to the floor.

After a formal complaint was lodged with the Met and an investigation launched by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) watchdog, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) charged former PC Payne.

The 27-year-old, of Church End, Harlow, was found guilty of assault by beating following a trial which began at Hendon Magistrates’ Court and concluded at City of London Magistrates’ Court on May 14.

He was fined £600 and ordered to pay costs of £1,000 and a £34 victim surcharge.

Former PC Payne's appeal at Southwark Crown Court on June 16 and 17 was not upheld, but his sentence is due to be revisited on October 3.

Another officer, PC Jack Wood, 26, of Swanbourne Drive, Hornchurch, was convicted of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and assault by beating at the same trial.

He was sentenced at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on June 3 to six months in prison, suspended for 12 months, and ordered to pay costs of £1,000 and a victim surcharge of £122.

Although former PC Payne resigned from the Met in November 2020, a special case hearing on September 21 has now found he would have been dismissed without notice following his conviction.

Assistant Commissioner Amanda Pearson, chair of the hearing, found former PC Payne breached the standards of professional behaviour in relation to ‘discreditable conduct’ and ‘use of force’.

Chief Supt Stuart Bell, East Area Borough Commander, said: “Police officers have powers that allow them to use force. It is expected and demanded that when officers use those powers, they are used in a reasonable, proportionate and lawful way.

"An officer in each case must justify their use of force. It is clear that in this incident these standards were not met.”

Former PC Payne will now be added to the barred list held by the College of Policing.

The East Area BCU covers Havering, Barking and Dagenham and Redbridge.