BBC paid £100,000 to police for f ilming help
THEY are often too busy to attend routine calls from the general public.
But more than 140 police officers have spent weeks guarding BBC stars on top shows’ sets – when private security guards could have been much cheaper.
Nearly £100,000 was paid to the Metropolitan Police’s Film Unit to supervise the filming of shows such as Top Gear between January 2015 and March this year, figures show.
The cost of providing officers could be nearly 40 per cent higher than private security. Private guards would typically charge just under £13 per hour, while police cost between £18 and £20, an expert claimed.
Last night, Labour MP Keith Vaz, chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee, criticised the practice.
He said: ‘This is a puzzling use of police resources. If the BBC have funds available they would be best used hiring private security firms.’
‘Local police services have been facing severe cuts and their first priority must be to provide the public with security, not the media with logistical support.’
Details were given after a Freedom of Information request and show 142 officers were seconded on 98 occasions to supervise filming of BBC shows in the capital over 15 months.
Filming of Top Gear required the most officers, with 31 brought in over eight days, for which the force was paid £22,000. A controversial episode featuring Matt Le Blanc performed stunts near the Cenotaph was filmed on March 13 and cost Top Gear £7,740, needing ten officers.
Crime drama Silent Witness was the most costly show, racking up a £22,200 bill for the use of 29 officers over 27 days. War drama SS-GB had scenes shot on The Mall in front of Buckingham Palace, costing £13,500 for 20 officers over 14 days, while New Blood cost £11,200 for 17 officers Costly: Top Gear’s Cenotaph stunt over 14 days. The total bill, which would have been paid by the BBC and its production companies, was just over £95,000 for 98 days’ filming.
Anthony Henry, a manager at private security firm Magneta, provided the hourly rate comparison.
He said that his firm has provided security for shows including Top Gear but explained that police were often preferred ‘because stars carry insurance and you’d want to make sure you’re fully covered’.
Barrister Jessica Learmond-Criqui, who chairs a safer neighbourhood panel in North London, also hit out.
She said: ‘It’s very concerning if that’s the way the police are using their resources.’
A Metropolitan Police spokesman explained: ‘The officers are deployed on overtime and this does not impact in any way on their normal duties.’
The cost of the hiring police does not necessarily come from licence fee payers, as Top Gear is funded by the corporation’s commercial arm BBC Worldwide, while some shows were made by independent companies.
A BBC spokesman said: ‘When filming in public places, the safe and smooth running of our operations is of paramount importance, but we will always seek the most cost-effective approach.’