Only 10 Met officers out of 412 investigated over alleged online abuse have been fired

The figures appear to support the complaint of the new Met commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, that the force is being hamstrung by the difficulty in sacking officers. Photograph: Kirsty O’Connor/PA

Scotland Yard has sacked only 10 of the 412 police officers investigated for their allegedly abusive use of WhatsApp or social media sites such as Facebook in the past five years.

The vast majority of the officers disciplined for their conduct were instead given written warnings while others were put on “reflective learning practice” or given “management advice”.