The Metropolitan Police, and its spending and responsibilities, has long garnered national political interest. The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has insisted that declining numbers of police staff, both clerical and frontline, “presents a serious risk to the safety of Londoners.” In an attempt to allay fears over the alleged dangers of a reduction in central government grants, the cost of policing in 2018-19 will in part be met by higher council tax and business rates.
Yet London’s police force clearly has a pernicious and avoidable addiction to overspending. Between April 2015 and December 2017, they spent £8,577,748 on flights, of which 56 per cent was spent in non-economy cabins (premium economy, business and first class).