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PC Adam Zaman, 28, allegedly committed the offence on October 24 while he was off duty in the capital. Zaman, who is based in the force’s East Area Command Unit, has been remanded in custody ahead of his appearance at Westminster Magistrates’ Court.

A spokesperson for the force confirmed he had been suspended from duty.

Detective Chief Superintendent Paul Trevers, Policing Commander for the East Area Command Unit, said: “I recognise that the public will be concerned to hear that a serving police officer has been charged with such a serious offence.

“We absolutely share that concern.

“We acted swiftly when this allegation was reported to us and have fully supported what continues to be a thorough investigation by detectives from the City of London Police.

“Specialist support is being provided to the complainant.

“PC Zaman has now been charged and it is important that criminal proceedings are allowed to take their course.

“Nothing should be said or reported which could put the integrity of those proceedings at risk.”

The Metropolitan Police is facing ongoing criticism following the murder of Sarah Everard.

The Policing and Crime Minister Kit Malthouse said the vetting process may need to improve following the murder of Ms Everard by serving Met Police officer Wayne Couzens.

Speaking to i at the Conservative Party conference last month, he said he was confident “as I can be” that standards have not slipped.

He said: “Recent events have raised the question in everybody’s mind about how somebody like this monster could get through and whether we need to improve our vetting procedures.

“Obviously vetting is something that you need to pay constant attention to, not least at the moment because the nature of our lives is changing.”

Earlier this year, the Met Police only started including officers’ social media posts in its vetting procedures.

Mr Malthouse admitted he was surprised it had only started this year.

He said: “Life is moving very quickly, and it is a surprise that it only started this year.”

The Minister said he wants to make it easier for colleagues to flag concerns to each other.

More to follow…

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