A DEPUTY Chief Constable has been appointed to Essex temporarily.

Commander Ben-Julian ‘BJ’ Harrington will join the force as Temporary Deputy Chief Constable on secondment from the Metropolitan Police Service.

He will be replacing Deputy Chief Constable Matthew Horne who joins the National Crime Agency as Deputy Director, initially on secondment.

Mr Harrington currently holds lead responsibility for public order policing and emergency preparedness across London and will join Essex Police on in April or early May.

Mr Harrington was previously Commander for North London covering the London Boroughs of Barnet, Harrow, Ealing, Brent, Camden and Islington.

He has spent his entire 26-year career in policing in the Met Police working across Territorial and Specialist Operational roles, where he also served as one of the Silver Commanders for the 2012 London Olympic Games.

Chief Constable Stephen Kavanagh said: "BJ Harrington is an outstanding operational leader who has worked on some of London’s biggest public order challenges, such as large-scale demonstrations and major public occasions.

"During his interview, BJ demonstrated his commitment to the values of Essex Police and, as importantly, to keeping our county’s communities safe. He will bring to Essex a wealth of experience and operational knowledge and I look forward to working with him.”