Met embroiled in £2m expenses storm

Police body caught up in damaging credit card scandal years after internal auditors red-flagged flaws in the claims regime

Written by David Jetuah

A £2m expenses row has been sparked at Scotland Yard following the arrest of two senior police officers last night.

The pair were taken into custody last week in connection with an alleged expenses scam totalling millions of pounds. Senior Metropolitan Police officers carrying out royal protection duty and other high-profile work, were issued American Express credit cards to cover work- related costs, but may have taken advantage of the situation.

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police Authority told The Guardian: 'Auditors looking at use of corporate credit cards discovered there was loose processes or sloppy management in some areas. In some cases it did not appear there were proper controls over the way the cards were being used.'

Despite concerns being expressed by the force's internal auditors in 2004, £2m of expenses remain unaccounted for. The delay has been caused because of claims still rolling in from continuing police operations, generating a log jam of expenses.

Further reading:

NAO governance to be overhauled after Bourn scandal

Enjoyed this article? Help spread the word:

Comments

Reader comments for this story

White papers

Related jobs

Spotlight

Richard Atkinson, FD of All England Tennis Court

Profile: Richard Atkinson, FD of All England Tennis Club

As Wimbledon reaches a heady climax, the FD of All...

PwC 10-year anniversary special report

Relive how the controversial mega-merger of Price Waterhouse and Coopers...

Make partner fast with YP

The latest edition of Young Professional features our definitive guide...

Find your next job

Find your next job
Salary Checker

Newsletters

Sign up here for the very latest news delivered to your inbox. Choose from the following options:

Search white papers

Search white papers

Have your say

Has the credit crunch made you fear for your job?
Yes, my company says jobs will go
Maybe, if things get worse, I could be hit
No, business is quite stable

Job of the week

More finance jobs...

Your next job