Former chief superintendent Simon Crick claimed he was forced to retire early because of the allegations, which Sky published last year.

A retired Metropolitan Police officer is set to receive “substantial damages” from Sky to settle a High Court claim after it falsely said he used taxpayer money to facilitate sexual encounters with female colleagues.

Barristers for former chief superintendent Simon Crick told a hearing on Wednesday that he felt forced to retire earlier than planned in November last year because of the claims, which were published in April 2024 by Sky Limited and Sky UK Limited.

Reading an agreed statement, Nikila Kaushik, for Mr Crick, said the two entities are within the Sky Group and publish Sky News and its website.

She said they were responsible for an online article published on April 3 last year, headlined: “Police chief accused of using taxpayer money to book hotels for sex with female colleagues”.

The article claimed that Mr Crick had committed professional misconduct and had been removed from active duty while misconduct proceedings were ongoing.

Ms Kaushik said Sky had accepted “that the allegations were false” and had agreed to pay Mr Crick damages and his legal costs.

She said: “The claimant was concerned that Sky News were given this false story in order that he would be harmed by this ‘fake news’.

“Unfortunately, although the article was withdrawn shortly after publication, the allegations in it circulated widely and for some months.

“The...

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