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GMP spent £1.5m on public relations in 2007

02/06/2008

Greater Manchester Police spent £1.5 million on public relations exercises last year, according to information obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.

No other police force in the north-west spent as much as the GMP on corporate communications in 2007. The closest was Merseyside Police, which spent a little over £970,000.

It is estimated that the £1.5 million would have paid for an extra 1,400 full-time police officers.

Matthew Elliott, of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "Many police spin-doctors are paid more than police officers and they never put their lives on the line.

"This excessive spending on PR is not only wrong - it's a waste of taxpayers' money."

A spokesperson for the GMP said corporate communications spending represented around 0.3 per cent of the police budget.

The GMP recently refused to police a homecoming parade for the victorious Man United FC squad, which meant it could not go ahead.