[google.com] The
force racked up a £113,598,687 bill for armed bodyguards who shadow
high-profile individuals and patrol at risk properties in 2009-10.
The figure was less than the £127,784,028 spent in 2008-9, but similar to the £116,515,695 laid out in 2007-8.
It
can be made public for the first time after it was included in internal
budget papers filed by accountants at the end of the financial year.
But
it is not clear if the money is only the annual grant handed over by
the Government, which could mean the true cost of protection is even
higher.
Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson has complained to
successive home secretaries that the Whitehall funding is not enough to
adequately protect those at risk so London residents are contributing to
international protection duties through their council tax.
Sir
Paul has indicated that the protection bill must be slimmed down and
suggested he is impatient for an ongoing review to be completed.
But
police have already begun preparing for the expensive and complex task
of protecting hundreds of VIPs during the 2012 Olympic Games.
One source said the new figures include the cost of patrolling embassies, royal residences and other sensitive buildings.
But
Green Party politician Jenny Jones, a member of the Metropolitan Police
Authority (MPA), said it is "indefensible to spend so much money on
protection for famous people and frequently empty houses."
Source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5jXmnDaR0IDNKqOaaNxGQ58YQpDpw
