Five Metropolitan Police officers will face a gross-misconduct hearing over the stop-and-search of Team GB athlete Bianca Williams, following an investigation by the police watchdog.

The British sprinter, 28, and her partner, were stopped in their car, in west London, on July 2020.

The couple were handcuffed, searched for weapons and drugs and separated from their three-month-old son.

An investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct of the July 2020 stop of Williams and her partner, Ricardo dos Santos, has concluded there is a case to answer for gross misconduct against five Metropolitan police officers.

It is understood that a disciplinary panel will also consider whether racial discrimination played any part in the actions of some of the officers.

The officers are understood to deny wrongdoing, insist their actions were correct and will contest the charges. They also enjoy support among their fellow officers and Met leaders.

Gross misconduct is the highest level of disciplinary charge a police officer can face. A sixth Met officer has been recommended by the IOPC to face a misconduct charge.

After a row erupted about the stop, the then Met commissioner, Cressida Dick, claimed that "any officer worth their salt would have stopped that car".

The IOPC went to the Met with its recommendations that five officers should face gross misconduct charges last month, following its investigation.The Met is understood to have been unhappy with the recommendations.

The formal announcement of the discipline charges is expected this week, and may be as early as Wednesday.