A senior Hertfordshire police officer is facing a misconduct hearing after he was allegedly untruthful about a personal relationship and failed to report serious safeguarding concerns.

The officer, who holds superintending rank, can currently only be referred to as Officer Z after he asked for anonymity.

According to a publicity notice published in advance of the misconduct hearing, he allegedly was "untruthful to his line manager, who is a force executive officer and a chief superintendent, when he was asked direct questions about the circumstances surrounding a personal relationship".

Officer Z also allegedly "neglected to complete the appropriate procedures … in relation to the same personal relationship" and "neglected to report or otherwise act upon serious safeguarding concerns relating to the other party in the personal relationship."

The misconduct hearing, beginning on Friday, February 6, will consider whether Officer Z's actions amount to gross misconduct, and whether he broke standards of professional behaviour relating to honesty and integrity, orders and instructions, and duties and responsibilities.

The chair of the hearing will make a final decision on whether to grant anonymity to Officer Z.