A Metropolitan Police officer accused of getting a 15-year-old girl to meet him in a park for an improper reason has claimed he only wanted to give her “careers advice”.

Pc Adnan Arib, 45, is also alleged to have told a second girl, aged 16, she was “very pretty” while in Bethnal Green police station, east London, where he was based.

He denies two charges of misconduct in a public office in relation to his alleged behaviour towards the two teenagers he met while on duty.

Jurors at Southwark Crown Court have heard the uniformed officer was called to a 15-year-old girl’s flat by her mother, who had accused her of stealing £10, in July 2019.

During a conversation in the teenager’s bedroom, Arib asked her to write her phone number, name and other details on a piece of paper, the court heard.

Prosecutors claim he also mouthed to her to “say no” when he questioned her about the suspected theft, which he denies doing.

The officer said he had instead offered the youngster guidance on work experience including the police cadets, but “we never got into the details” so arranged to see her again to discuss it further.

Giving evidence on Tuesday, he said he had planned to talk through “interview techniques” and “careers advice” with her when he met her in a nearby park after she finished school.

After waiting for her to arrive and texting to remind her about the arrangement, Arib allegedly asked the 15-year-old if she had a boyfriend and suggested taking her out for a drink, prosecutors claim.

The girl later said in an interview that the alleged comments made her feel “uncomfortable”, jurors have heard.

Arib denied having raised either topic, claiming he would rather have gone straight home from work that day but stayed to avoid disappointing her.

“(It was) a hot day in July, long shift, I’m diabetic, I was hungry and I waited for her because I didn’t want her to feel let down,” he said.

Asked why he later sent a message to the girl saying it was “lovely” seeing her, he replied: “We had a nice chat about, you know, she can do something with her life.”

He added: “I didn’t think of anything sinister or anything, it’s just a text I would send to anyone. For me it’s just a general, generic greeting.”

Cross-examining, prosecutor Jacqueline Carey said: “This meeting was absolutely nothing to do with careers advice at all was it?”

“No, that’s not right,” the officer said.

The second complainant was picked up by police after she was reported missing on April 1 2019.

She began to feel “uncomfortable and a bit weird” when Arib allegedly started quizzing her about her personal life in the station, the court heard.

Arib allegedly accessed a police report about her and officers later found 47 text messages had been sent between them on a phone he had initially tried to deny was his, the court heard.

Jurors heard Arib has described himself as “naive and foolish” and claims he believed offering careers guidance to the two girls was part of his wider policing duties.

The trial continues.

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