A whistleblowing former police officer had insult added to injury when he was asked to pay the postage cost for his own P45.

PC James Patrick, who lives in the Colchester area, resigned from the Metropolitan Police in March after telling MPs the force was manipulating crime figures.

He revealed this week the Met had posted his P45 without a stamp, leaving him with an unwelcome bill for £1.53.

He said: “I was quite philosophical - I swore at first then laughed.

“I’ve sent them an invoice for £1.53, plus the cost of my own stamp and the cost of an hour of my own time at a consultancy rate.”

A Metropolitan Police spokesman believed the error had been caused by the automatic franking machine which processes mail.

He added: “Whilst it is unusual for post to be mailed without being franked, it does happen occasionally.

“The recipient in this case will be reimbursed directly this week.”

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