A Kent police officer has been banned from serving in the force after lying to the Met to avoid speeding charges.

Former PC Thomas Joshua Smith served with Kent Police at Coldharbour police station near Maidstone for eight years, until he was convicted of perverting the course of justice in July this year.

The former cop insisted he was a “good police officer who has made one very bad decision,” but the force’s chief constable said “the public would take an extremely dim view of his actions”.

The long-serving PC had been seen speeding in his car on several occasions over a two-week period.

Supt Matt Scott told a hearing panel Smith had been “lying to the Met Police to avoid prosecution for several speeding tickets”.

On December 31 last year, he was caught speeding on the A20, and admitted he was the driver.

However, he refused to admit that he was the driver when his car was caught speeding on the A20 on three occasions in early January.

At the hearing, held at the force’s Maidstone headquarters in Sutton Road, Kent Police Chief Constable Tim Smith said “former PC Smith created a false narrative about a cloned vehicle in order to avoid the consequences and created false images to support that false narrative”.

Smith had claimed to Met Police officers who confronted him that his vehicle had been “cloned”, and he was not driving the car which had been caught speeding.

Car cloning refers to when criminals copy the registration plates and unique Vehicle Identification Number of a car and use it themselves - often meaning that speeding tickets or other traffic offences accrue to unsuspecting drivers.

But PC Smith’s car had not been cloned - and after being confronted by officers he placed stickers on his number plate so that his car would not match that which was filmed speeding, Supt Scott explained.

This was later discovered “Through our anonymous intelligence systems,” Supt Scott added.

Smith pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice on July 8 at Croydon County Court, and was sentenced to eight months in jail.

He did not attend the misconduct hearing, despite no longer being incarcerated.

Instead he was represented by Neil Mennie, chairman of the Kent Police Federation, who read a lengthy statement from Smith.

“I have chosen not to attend this hearing not out of disrespect, but only because I know what the outcome will be,” it read.

“I am a good police officer who has made one very bad decision. I fully accepted my wrongdoing from the outset,” he insisted.

“I resigned at the earliest opportunity. not to avoid this hearing, but because it was the right thing to do.”

He noted that he had received two certificates of merit during his career with Kent Police, and boasted that “while on suspension I apprehended a shoplifter who had stolen a significant amount of meat from a shop”.

“I was unwell at the time of the offences and couldn’t call in sick,” he said, saying he had sustained ligament damage to his knee in 2020 while pursuing a wanted burglar.

“I had a 100% attendance record, I only undertook the actions I did to stay in the job I love.”

The statement added: “I am fully aware that I will be found guilty of police misconduct and accept that decision.”

He predicted accurately, with Chief Constable Tim Smith stressing that while “PC Smith has fully accepted his actions…his admission only came after his actions were discovered.”

He continued: “Former PC Smith created a false narrative about a cloned vehicle in order to avoid those consequences and created false images to support that false narrative.

“The judge saw this as so serious it warranted imprisonment. I believe the public would take an extremely dim view of his actions. The only appropriate action in this case is dismissal without notice.

“I see no basis on which his career as a police officer could continue, if he was still serving as a police officer I would have dismissed him on this day.”

The former PC was also placed on the barred list - meaning he can never serve with the force again.

Detective Chief Superintendent Jon Armory, head of professional Standards, said: “Kent Police officers are held to the highest standards of professional behaviour and the vast majority act with honesty and integrity at all times.

“Those who fail to meet our expectations will rightly face disciplinary measures and in the most serious cases will be arrested and prosecuted.”