Data obtained under the Freedom of Information Act
The Met Police has come under fire for spending close to £8.5m on flights, between April 2015 and December 2017, to travel around the world for investigations.
Britain’s largest police force bought 13,763 flights during that period, according to data obtained by the TaxPayers’ Alliance under the Freedom of Information Act. Of that, a total of 114 first class flights were booked costing £407,952.
Duncan Simpson, a policy analyst at the campaign group, said: “It is completely unacceptable that we are taxed to pay for luxury flights that few of us could ever enjoy ourselves.
“Members of the police will, in the course of their duties, have to take flights occasionally, but it is difficult to understand why they should be travelling so expensively, especially at a time of budget constraints.
“Of course taxpayers appreciate the dangerous work the police do on their behalf, but there are ways to bring down costs without hitting frontline services.”
However, a Met spokesman has said that “in all instances, the most economical fare is purchased”, with business class seats usually only considered for flights of more than six hours.
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