Five firearms trainers at the National Crime Agency (NCA) have been sacked after it was found they faked official records.

The group were all dismissed for gross misconduct following an internal investigation into claims they had falsified records linked to firearms training between December 2021 and July 2022, the NCA said.

Another three trainers resigned from their jobs before they could face disciplinary hearings, the agency said.

It said two of them would have been sacked and the third would have been given a written warning if they had still been in post.

One of the sacked officers had been due to be called as a prosecution witness in a separate trial at Liverpool Crown Court where an NCA officer was accused of two counts of misconduct in public office.

Prosecutors decided not to pursue the case after the witness was sacked.

The NCA said the misconduct allegations related to incidents in October 2018. The officer in question resigned from his job in May 2019.

The agency is now considering whether to bring disciplinary proceedings after the prosecution was withdrawn.

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NCA deputy director Nigel Leary said: “The NCA expects the highest standards of integrity and conduct from its officers.

“Our mission is to protect the public from serious and organised crime, and it is important that we do this with the support and confidence of the people we serve.

“To do this effectively it is essential that we root out misconduct and ensure we only ever have the right people working for us.”

Mr Leary said the level of conduct required of officers continues to be made clear, which makes it easier for them to “search out and remove those unsuitable to work at the NCA”.

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