For many, the parallels between Canadian ski slopes and the mean streets of the East End would not be immediately apparent.
Yet more than a dozen British police officers will this week jet off to the Winter Olympics in Vancouver to pick up 'vital' security tips for the London Games in 2012.
Last night critics branded the trip - which will cost the taxpayer £120,000 - a 'jolly' and a waste of money. The expedition follows a similar visit to the Beijing Games last August, which ran up a bill of more than £100,000.
Dubbed the 'skiing squad' by envious Scotland Yard colleagues, officers from the Metropolitan Police will fly to the top ski resort of Whistler to embed with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The group of 27 includes home office staff and Met assistant commissioner Chris Allison, who will shadow his opposite number in the Mounties, Bud Mercer.
Extraordinarily, officers from Dorset and Thames Valley, who will police sailing and rowing competitions in 2012, are also travelling to Vancouver.
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