David Ruffley

A thousand police officers a day are calling in sick because of stress, anxiety or depression.

At least 70 have been signed off work for a year while absences are costing the taxpayer almost £1 million a week in total.

Millions of pounds are also being paid annually to keep hundreds of police on "gardening leave." Meanwhile £500million was spent on overtime last year.

Fifty per cent of cases are said to be triggered by tension at home because of relationship problems or money worries rather than work-related stress.

Red tape and bureaucracy for police has increased the cost of dealing with criminal incidents by pounds 80 million in three years, the Tories claim.

The total staff cost of dealing with incidents has risen by pounds 158 million to pounds 1.2 billion since 2004-05, figures obtained by David Ruffley , the shadow police minister, show.

Just over half of this figure - nearly pounds 80 million - was down to red tape and bureaucracy, Mr Ruffley said.

Home Office staff spent almost £1million on taxis last y ear- 30 times more than when Labour took power.

The department claims the massive rise is down to staff having to travel at "short notice" for increasing "operational work".

Spending on flights and hotel accommodation has also soared. Some £11million of public money was used last year to ferry staff from the Home Office and its agencies and foot their hotel bills- up 48 per cent in three years.

The Home Office was blasted last night after its taxi bill soared an incredible 30-Fold to nearly Pounds 1million.

The Home Office taxi bill rose from Pounds 30,000 to Pounds 900,000 in the last ten years, figures obtained by the Conservatives show.

Spending on hotels and flights by Whitehall pen-pushers has also rocketed.

Tories said they were stunned by the increase and demanded an explanation from MPs.

More than half a million serial criminals have been let off with repeated cautions, it was disclosed yesterday.

Tens of thousands of the offenders have been given four or more formal warnings since 2000, figures obtained by the Tories show.

It means burglars, muggers, violent attackers and other criminals continually avoid court and the risk of jail despite committing more and more crimes.

Thousands are even receiving repeat cautions in the same year and the proportion is growing.

Tens of thousands of criminals have been let off with several cautions in the same year, it emerged last night.

New figures show a big rise in the numbers being given a slap on the wrist.

In 2008, 3,013 got FOUR cautions or more, up by a fifth since 2000. Over the past nine years, some 23,600 had at least four in a year. And nearly 43,000 copped three in the same year from 2000 to 2008.

Shadow Home Office minister David Ruffley obtained the stats in a Parliamentary question.

He said: "It sends out the wrong message. The first caution should be the last."

More than half a million serial criminals have escaped with repeated cautions in 'soft justice' Britain.

In tens of thousands of cases, offenders are committing four or more crimes such as shoplifting or burglary, and still not being hauled before the courts.

Critics said it made a mockery of the idea that cautions should be used to warn the first-time offender that if they step out of line again they will be punished by magistrates or judges.

Continuing his series of visits to local businesses, David Ruffley MP will be visiting Glasswells World of Furniture in Newmarket Road, Bury St Edmunds on Friday, 13 November to see how local business fares in recession.

David will meet Paul Glasswell and staff in the Bury St Edmunds store.

This follows David's recent visits to Baker Construction in Bury St Edmunds, Barrastone Computing in Stowmarket and 2 Sisters Food Group at Haughley Park.

David said:

David Ruffley MP will meet church leaders from all denominations at Christ Church, Moreton Hall on Friday, 13 November. The meeting has been organised by Churches Together in Bury St Edmunds.

David keeps in regular contact with church leaders and their congregations throughout his constituency through meetings, correspondence and attending church services.

David Ruffley MP is consulting rural villages in his constituency following BT's proposal to remove 53 public payphones across West Suffolk.

David has written to parish councils offering his support if they wish to retain their village payphone against the wishes of BT and, in some cases, against the draft decision of St Edmundsbury Borough Council.