Yard probe over £1million in stolen expenses

Corrupt Scotland Yard police officers stole more than a million pounds using company-issue American Express cards, it can be revealed today.

The figure is the amount internal investigators believe has been lost in fraudulent expenses claims by a "handful" of specialist detectives.

The finding puts renewed pressure on Met Commissioner Sir Ian Blair, who has been ordered before his police watchdog this week to explain how much has been lost and how he plans to recover the cash.

More damagingly, he will also be asked to explain why he appeared to ignore three years of warnings from auditors about "sloppy" accounting procedures.

The Yard's anti-corruption squad has launched a review of all spending on corporate credit cards after the arrest of two counter-terrorist officers last week. The pair - a detective constable and a detective sergeant - are on bail on suspicion of stealing £70,000 using their Amex cards.

Police auditors are examining hundreds of unchecked expenses claims totalling £6million and dating back several years. Senior police sources say the figure they believe has been stolen runs to £1 million.

The cards are issued to about 3,000 officers in the Yard's specialist operations department, including counter terrorist investigators, protection officers and undercover officers. Investigators believe some officers used the cards to buy plasma TVs, jewellery and Rolex watches. They are also checking reports that some took foreign holidays claiming to be on police business.

However, there is anger in the Metropolitan Police Authority - the body that oversees the Met - that concerns over the auditing of American Express expenses cards were raised as early as 2004 when they were described as a "complete mess".

Evening Standard understands that senior management in the Met were more concerned with day to day policing issues than checking accounts. At a recent management meeting Sir Ian is understood to have complained that he was being forced to "waste time" on audit concerns rather than on fighting crime and other issues.

Insiders say the abuse of expenses claims has been widespread for years. One said: "No one has been even signing-off expenses. They have just been paid without questions. No one ever dared tackle it because of the strength of the old school attitudes."

Toby Harris, the Home Office's representative on the MPA and the chairman of the body's corporate governance committee, said he and his members had been urging the force's senior management to tighten up its audit procedures for years.

He said: "Generally, senior management have been slow to respond to concerns that have been raised in internal audits.

"My understanding is these procedures were very sloppy. But they are getting better as we insist on them doing so."

Tory MPA member Tony Arbour compared Sir Ian's stance to Clint Eastwood's character Harry Callahan in the film Dirty Harry. He said: "This story about credit card fraud certainly doesn't change my mind about Sir Ian. When you see what he said to the Assembly when he spoke to us, he is a bit like Clint Eastwood saying 'make my day, punk'. He is behaving like Dirty Harry and is basically daring us to sack him."

Len Duvall, the chairman of the MPA, met Sir Ian on Friday last week to discuss the issue and has demanded a full report from him on how much is missing and how it can be reclaimed by this Friday.

The controversy comes after an Independent Police Complaints Commission report into the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes at Stockwell Tube criticised Sir Ian last week for holding up its investigation. Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Mayor Ken Livingstone have defended the Commissioner's record.