The misconduct hearing of a Kingston police officer accused of stealing a colleague’s biscuits cost the Metropolitan Police more than £5,000.

PC Thomas Hooper spent three days, from February 19 to 21, 2018, before a panel to answer the allegation of taking the biscuits in May 2016 and lying about it five months later.

A Freedom of Information request revealed the itemised cost of the hearing, but the full cost of the investigation, in police time spent looking at the case, was not recorded.

Although the type of biscuits involved was not discussed at the hearing (reference was only made to a “two-tier tin”), the case is likely to have cost about a thousand times more than the item in question, which PC Hooper stressed he offered to replace.

The costs included a £2,026.50 expense claim from the panel chairwoman, a £780.50 expense claim from a panel member, £369 for a stenographer, counsel fees of £108, with a further payment request having been submitted for £1728, and Directorate of Legal Services staff time is estimated to have cost £466.12.

Panel chairwoman Naheed Asjad said on the first day of the hearing that the public would be concerned that a complaint involving a tin of biscuits had reached such an advanced stage in the disciplinary process.

She asked Sarah Blake, who was an inspector at the time: "You have a sergeant and an inspector and a box of biscuits that have gone missing and the only thing you can come up with is to refer the matter to the Directorate of Professional Standards?"

PC Hooper was also accused of driving a police van in “response mode” (exceeding the speed limit with flashing lights on) without a valid reason.

He was found to have no case to answer for either allegation, and returned to full duties immediately, having been on restricted duties since July 2017.