A former Herts police officer will avoid criminal action despite a family court concluding a “wealth of evidence” points to him injuring his newborn.

The officer, who has not been named, admitted calling the baby girl “an attention-seeking whore” and conceded he may have been “heavy-handed”, but denied causing multiple bruises.

He offered explanations including a bottle falling on her and a family dog possibly trampling on her, but the court said “there is no innocent explanation” for three of the injuries.

Herts Police was asked if criminal action would now be taken, following which a spokesperson said: “We can confirm that a Hertfordshire Constabulary officer has resigned.

“The case was investigated by an independent force and found to not meet the criminal threshold.”

A spokesperson for Cambridge Constabulary, which investigated, said the level of proof required for criminal proceedings is ‘beyond all reasonable doubt’, compared to ‘on the balance of probability’ applied at a family court.

“In this case, it was not thought the evidence reached the high criminal threshold and therefore no charge was brought,” they added.

During the family court hearing in Watford, held to determine if the baby could return to the parents, it emerged a pact had been made at a family gathering not to mention the father calling his little girl “an attention-seeking whore”, which he later admitted.

"The lies started, it appears, from the minute the health visitor arrived at the home," the court judgment says.

"This case is about how the child sustained bruising, her lived experiences in her first 26 days, and adults who failed to protect her and have lied to protect themselves or others.

"It is disappointing to note that a serving police officer would choose to lie or minimise during a police interview.

"It is also concerning to note that WhatsApp had been deleted off father’s phone by the time it was taken by the police."

The judgement concludes it is unlikely the injuries were sustained in a single incident and “the wealth of evidence points to the father causing the bruising”.

The baby was placed under police protection in October 2021 and has remained in foster care.

Read more: Herts police officer admits calling newborn a 'whore'