Met Police blames globe-trotting royals for a huge rise in overseas travel costs after cash spent on hotels and flights doubled to £6.6m last year

• Scotland Yard paid more than six million for flights and hotel rooms last year 
• Globe-trotting Royals blamed for a huge rise in Met Police overseas travel cost
• Globe-trotting Royals have been blamed for a huge rise in the Metropolitan Police’s overseas travel costs.
   
  New figures published by the London Mayor’s office show the amount paid by Scotland Yard for flights and hotel rooms was £6.6 million last year, up from £3.3 million in 2015-16.
  The Met attributed the increase in part to more overseas Royal trips, which require its elite armed bodyguards to travel.
  The Met Police attributed the increase in part to more overseas Royal trips 

Palace accounts show spending on official Royal tours has stayed steady at about £2.7 million for the past three years, suggesting some of the rise is down to Royals taking private holidays. The pair are pictured in Australia in October last year after their three week tour of the country.

In response to a question about the rise by London Assembly members, London Mayor Sadiq Khan said: ‘The increase in flight costs between 2017/18 and 2018/19 is due to an increase in demand, including a significant increase in long-haul travel, with Specialist Ops and in particular the Royalty and Specialist Protection Command, experiencing additional demand.’

While police costs have risen, Palace accounts show spending on official Royal tours has stayed steady at about £2.7 million for the past three years, suggesting some of the rise is down to Royals taking private holidays.

Last night, London Police and Crime Committee member Caroline Pidgeon said: ‘At a time when community policing has been decimated and violent crime is at such high levels, I find it staggering that such significant amounts of public money are being spent on these items.’

Buckingham Palace declined to comment.

New figures published by the London Mayor’s office show the amount paid by Scotland Yard for flights and hotel rooms was £6.6 million last year, up from £3.3 million in 2015-16 [File photo]

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