Home Secretary holds up police officers in f-word rant allegations as example of behaviour which should be "expunged"

The Home Secretary said the incident showed "contempt" for the public Credit: ITV News Central

The Home Secretary has held up two police officers from the West Midlands as an example of the kind of bad behaviour she wants "expunged" from the ranks.

Speaking to the Police Federation last week, Theresa May recounted to the annual conference a story covered by ITV News Central in February, when two officers were accused of leaving an expletive-riddled voicemail message on the phone of a suspected domestic abuse victim.

WARNING: This article contains language which some people may find offensive.

Listen to the voicemail message here:

The complaint was made by 19-year-old Alex Faragher, from Sutton Coldfield, who was due to give a statement to police over reports of domestic violence in January.

But police arrived when she was out - and when they called her, she says they accidentally left their phone off the hook, meaning their foul-mouthed rant was recorded.

On the audio, the men can be heard calling her a "f bitch" and a "slag".

The two officers, from Sutton Coldfield police station, were put on restricted duties while West Midlands Police's professional standards team carried out an investigation.

In her speech, Ms May said the incident showed "contempt" for the public the officers were meant to serve.

Ms May also used the speech to criticise the Federation over the so-called 'Plebgate' scandal - and dropped the bombshell that all public funding was to be withdrawn.

The West Midlands Police investigation into the incident is ongoing.

Read the original story here: Police accused of f-word voicemail rant

Read: Public funding for Police Federation to be stopped