Detective charged over credit card misuse

A second Metropolitan Police officer has been charged in connection with an investigation into the alleged misuse of corporate credit cards.

Detective Constable Matt Washington, 36, has been charged with misconduct in public office.

He will appear at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court, in central London, on 15 May, the Independent Police Complaints Commission said.

Metropolitan Police bosses faced difficult questions last year after it emerged that £4.7m of spending on corporate credit cards was unaccounted for.

An investigation, managed by the IPCC, was launched and financial auditors reviewed paperwork.

Two detectives were arrested and released on bail as officers from the force's professional standards watchdog attempted to trace the missing money.

The investigation was launched after auditors from the capital's Police Authority identified possible failings in the way expenses were managed.

Last month a former counter-terrorism detective appeared in court accused of fiddling his expenses.

Detective Sergeant Richard de Cadenet, 38, appeared before a district judge charged with "misfeasance in a public office".

The alleged misconduct related to spending on corporate American Express cards between 18 July and 2 October last year.

The court was told de Cadenet resigned from his role in Scotland Yard's SO13 unit following his arrest last October.

By January this year, only £499,000 of credit card spending remained unexplained, according to Metropolitan Police figures.

Last year 3,533 Metropolitan Police officers and staff had corporate credit cards but the force has since cancelled 1,400 of the cards.