Gatwick probe after security officer found to be convicted paedophile
Gatwick Airport has launched an investigation after being told that one of its security officers was a convicted sex offender.
The man, aged 41, had powers to frisk male passengers, but was suspended from his job after the Sun newspaper alerted the airport to the fact that he had been given a suspended prison sentence in June for possessing indecent images of children.
The security officer, who has to sign the sex offenders register, kept his conviction at Maidstone Crown Court secret from the airport’s management.
A Gatwick spokesman told the Sun the officer breached the terms of his employment by not informing superiors.
He has now been suspended and an inquiry has been launched.
A Gatwick Airport spokesman told the newspaper it had not been made aware of the officer’s conviction for possessing indecent images of children."
The man, of Maidstone, has been employed at the airport for a number of years.
He was arrested last year, said the newspaper, for breaching a harassment order relating to a 19-year-old former partner.
Police searched his home and found indecent images of children on his laptop.
He told the Sun he pleaded guilty but was planning to appeal.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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