A married policeman in Newham allegedly told a female colleague he wanted her to watch him perform a solo sex act on himself, a disciplinary panel heard today.

Pc Lee Harrison is accused of being a sexual predator and faces 31 allegations including making a string of sexually explicit comments and approaches towards five colleagues.

A misconduct hearing heard he denies the allegations.

Counsel, Clare Hennessy, said at the hearing’s opening: “He acted in an inappropriate way over a sustained period of time, behaving in a predatory way.”

A panel heard Pc Harrison told one rookie policewoman, Officer A, he wanted her to watch him perform a solo sex act on himself.

The officer, who was 27 at the time of the alleged misconduct in 2016, said: “It was completely inappropriate.

“I felt uncomfortable and embarrassed. I just wanted him to leave me alone.”

The officer described Pc Harrison dangling her upside down saying he could smell her and couldn’t wait to smell her more at an officer safety course.

He is alleged to have texted her in inappropriate image of his wife on holiday and would regularly stroke the officer’s thigh saying he was checking her socks were pulled up on patrol.

He is alleged to have invited Officer A - who he daily called “a disgrace” - to his house saying his wife was on a night shift.

Pc Harrison allegedly threatened to kick another female officer in the uterus if she touched a box of doughnuts on a desk he had pushed her over.

Officer A told the panel she didn’t feel confident enough to complain about the alleged behaviour after Pc Harrison confronted an officer who had.

But a female sergeant said in a statement that Officer A told her their relationship was like brother and sister, which she denied.

Richard Atchley, representing Pc Harrison’s superior officer, Sgt Stuart Murray, said: “This man was an animal. A Jekyll and Hyde capable of being smarmy and sweet when he wanted to be and then a completely unacceptable animal.”

Mr Atchley told the panel Pc Harrison, an officer with 17 years’ experience, became unhappy after he was taken off an armed squad.

Sgt Murray is alleged to have failed to challenge Pc Harrison’s behaviour. The pair face dismissal for gross misconduct.

The hearing continues.