Met spends millions on air fares

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Scotland Yard spent £12.5m on first class and business class flights over the past three years, figures revealed.

This included £4.6m last year, a 17% rise since 2007, the Sunday Times found in a Freedom of Information request.

The Taxpayers' Alliance said it was "clearly excessive" for police to fly business and first class regularly.

A Metropolitan Police spokeswoman said its policy was to book "the cheapest price travel available bearing in mind operational demands".

Olympic trips

The Met took 2,247 first or business class flights in the year up to April 2009, to destinations including the Far East.

Their flights had an average price of £2,000, with the most expensive flight costing the Met £9,300.

In August last year the Met sent detectives to the Caribbean to help investigate the double murder of a British couple on honeymoon in Antigua.

Of course it may sometimes be necessary for officers to fly abroad, but they could do so at far better prices Mark Wallace, Taxpayers' Alliance

It also spent more than £68,000 on 33 business-class flights to Beijing to attend last year's Olympic Games.

The Met spokeswoman said: "All overseas travel by members of the Metropolitan Police Service is subject to authorisation by an Association of Chief Police Officers ranking officer or a senior member of police staff in overall charge of a business area and must be justified and supported by a business case."

Mark Wallace, campaign director of pressure group the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "Of course it may sometimes be necessary for officers to fly abroad, but they could do so at far better prices.

"This money could be used for the frontline fight against crime or for reducing taxes."