BRITAIN’S top anti-terrorist officer is facing an investigation into his expenses claims and foreign trips with a woman police sergeant.

With Scotland Yard already in turmoil, Andy Hayman, the Metropolitan police anti-terrorism chief, has been questioned over thousands of pounds spent on hotel expenses and drinks for his staff. The inquiry will put renewed pressure on Sir Ian Blair, the Met commissioner, after he survived a no-confidence vote last week over the killing of an innocent Brazilian in a bungled antiterror operation.

Hayman, 48, a former chief constable and one of only five assistant commissioners in the Met, is a close ally of Blair but was criticised for misleading him and the public over the shooting.

He has been asked to explain at least £15,000 expenses that included claims for “inordinate amounts” of drinking with colleagues. “Apart from the money, what happens if they are all out drinking when a bomb goes off?” said one Met official.

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The married father of two has been quizzed about his relationship with Sergeant Heidi Tubby, his former staff officer. Tubby is said to have accompanied him on foreign business trips at public expense but is not herself under investigation.

She worked as Hayman’s staff officer when he was chief constable of Norfolk police and followed Hayman to London in 2005 after Blair, then newly promoted to Met commissioner, offered his former protégé the job of assistant commissioner in charge of specialist operations.

Hayman has also been questioned over why he claimed expenses for staying at a hotel at Heathrow when he has a publicly funded “grace and favour” apartment in central London.

Senior sources say Blair’s decision to tolerate Hayman’s spending shows a “lack of control” at the top of Scotland Yard. The commissioner has faced criticism over corporate spending after a separate investigation into Amex card use by 3,000 officers.

At an angry meeting last week of the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA), the police watchdog, Blair promised to get a grip on “corporate governance issues”. However, he did not reveal that two weeks ago Peter Tickner, the MPA’s director of internal audit, sent a confidential dossier on Hayman’s expenses to the watchdog’s professional standards committee.

“They are reviewing the file to see whether to launch a proper investigation,” said one source.

Questions over Hayman’s expenses emerged about six months ago after a routine audit of the claims of all 12 members of the Met’s top management board. Hayman had claimed “substantially more” than any other member.

Hayman is the senior police officer in charge of Britain’s fight against Islamic terrorism. His responsibilities include the security of London, protecting the royal family and liaising with MI5 and other agencies on all national security and espionage cases as well as briefing the prime minister.

There is no suggestion that Hayman has broken the law. But officials say the inquiry has raised serious questions about his judgment. One official said: “Andy can be very charming but he has been reckless with his professional standards. He has been spending thousands of pounds of public money consuming inordinate amounts of alcohol with his staff.

“He thinks he should be allowed to do this. But there are questions about whether this breaks Met rules.

“The Heathrow hotel matter has also raised eyebrows. He is in a highly sensitive post running all Britain’s counter-terrorist operations.”

Another said: “As a former head of the Met’s professional standards directorate, Andy should know more than others that questions could be raised about such behaviour.”

As Britain’s anti-terror chief, Hayman travels frequently to the United States and elsewhere. Auditors have questioned why he needs to incur public expense by staying in an airport hotel when he already has the apartment in central London and a driver and official car.

Tubby is said to have stayed at the Heathrow hotel before they both took an early morning flight abroad. Blair and Paul Stephenson, the Met’s deputy commissioner, have also challenged Hayman about why he takes Tubby, in her early thirties, on foreign trips.

The sources said that Hayman had been questioned about a two-week trip to the United States last year. One said: “Stephenson discovered that Hayman had taken Tubby on that trip and called him in to explain himself. Andy insisted their relationship was entirely professional and that nothing untoward was going on.”

Sources said that Hayman has compiled a detailed response to each question that has been raised by auditors. Sources said that the £15,000 involved was spread over the past two or three years.

An MPA spokesman said: “We can confirm there is a report which is going to be considered by the MPA’s professional standards subcommittee. The report concerns expenditure relating to hospitality and will be considered in due course.”

Hayman was criticised for his role in the aftermath of the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes at Stockwell Tube station in London after police mistook him for one of the July 21 fugitives.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission said Hayman “chose to mislead” the public, Blair and other senior officers by failing to tell them the Brazilian was not a wanted terrorist. Blair was not told for 24 hours.

Additional reporting: Anna Mikhailova

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