Thirty-five Metropolitan Police officers have left the force due to sexual misconduct over the past five years.

Out of the 461 complaints against officers since 2010, 35 resulted in the officer either being dismissed or resigning, figures obtained by Trinity Mirror have revealed. A further 15 officers were found to have committed a sexual offence that was not serious enough to merit them losing their jobs.

Detective Superintendent Jackie Alexander, said that senior leaders need to "open their minds" to the fact that "sexual predators" operate in British policing and that in some cases officers who are found guilty of sexual offences against victims - many of them vulnerable - represent the greatest abuse of power.

DS Alexander, head of Nottinghamshire Police's Professional Standards Department (PSD), said that forces are nervous about the issue and, like many other organisations, fear the impact it has on their organisation.

She added: "Forces have not tried to cover it [cases of sexual misconduct] up [but] there is evidence that they have not understood it. At the first sign there could be an indication that it might not have happened they focus on this initial indication rather than being prepared to do the investigation, be clinical, remove the heart and think with your head."

Across Britain's police forces 522 officers were found guilty of sexual misconduct and 252 of these officers subsequently went on to either lose their job or leave their job over the investigation into them.

The data, obtained from 39 out of the 44 police forces in England and Wales as well as Police Scotland, showed that officers were found guilty of a range of offences from having sex on duty to sexually abusing children.

Sexual misconduct complaints can be brought by both members of the public and police staff.