Detective who pretended to work from home sacked

A police detective who pretended to work from home and spent hours browsing online shopping sites while on duty has been fired.

Det Con Philippa Baskwill weighed down her keyboard so her computer would not go into standby mode, giving the impression she was working when she was not.

The Avon and Somerset Police officer was caught when data showed her keystrokes had increased by 19 million in one year.

She was found guilty of gross misconduct and dismissed without notice at a hearing chaired by Chief Constable Sarah Crew earlier.

Supt Larisa Hunt, head of the force's professional standards department, said: "Staff are dealing with immense pressure and high workloads so it's extremely disappointing for an officer to act in this deliberate and deceitful way.

"She has let down the public primarily, but also her colleagues too."

Over a three-day period in 2023, Ms Baskwill - who was based at Bridgwater Police Station - was found to have spent nearly nine hours browsing through shopping websites while on duty.

On one occasion, she spent more than six hours of her shift pretending to work.

In a statement read at her misconduct hearing, Ms Baskill said she "fully accepted breaching the standards of professional behaviour" and apologised.

She also said she was struggling with morning sickness at the time of the incidents and did not believe she had been deliberately dishonest.