Sgt Di Maria, who headed a forensic services team, lost his vetting clearance in September 2023.

His appeal was rejected, a decision that paved the way for him to be sacked for gross incompetence, on the basis that he could no longer perform his duties.

In August 2019, a serving police officer alleged that Sgt Di Maria had raped her in a car parked at a Tesco, on two separate occasions after visiting a gym.

The sergeant denied the claims, saying both incidents had been consensual sex.

Met chiefs then placed him on restricted duties – but in June 2021, the Crown Prosecution Service concluded the officer should not be charged, saying there were inconsistencies in the female officer’s account.

The court said that other unproven allegations had been made against Sgt Di Maria, including that he had sent inappropriate emails to the wife of a colleague, a further historical allegation of rape, and inappropriate behaviour around female colleagues.

Those allegations led bosses to reconsider the sergeant’s vetting and remove it, paving the way for further disciplinary action and dismissal.