Met staff's free travel scam

Met police staff have been caught using their passes illegally to avoid paying for train travel.

An internal email seen by the Evening Standard warns staff that such action is a criminal offence and will result in prosecution and dismissal. Police officers are entitled to free travel and can show their warrant card if asked.

However, the police staff passes are similar to the warrant cards and have been misused by other people who work for the force.

The racketwas discovered after a series of exercises involving Railway Revenue Inspectors and British Transport Police. A spokesman for the BTP said officers contacted the professional standards department at the Met. Scotland Yard today confirmed that they had been alerted to the issue.

A spokeswoman said: "The MPS expects its staff to behave professionally, ethically and with the utmost integrity at all times. Any allegations of misconduct are taken extremely seriously and dealt with appropriately.

"If any member of the MPS is found guilty of such an offence they are likely to be dismissed."

The spokeswoman said there were no plans to change the staff identity card to look less like the warrant card.

The maximum penalty for fare evasion is £1,000 or a three-month prison sentence.