𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Answers have been demanded from the Department for Transport following the disclosure it spent nearly £41,000 on visits to the Maldives last year. The decision to spend so much taxpayers’ cash on trips to the Indian Ocean nation has been branded “bizarre”.

Campaigners are now calling on the Government to produce evidence this was more than “an expensive island-hopping exercise”. The department insists in-person visits are sometimes needed for “aviation security” work.

Although the islands are famed as a luxury tourism destination for holidaymakers in search of an island paradise, Foreign Office travel advice warns of the potential for terrorism, stating: “Terrorist attacks in the Maldives cannot be ruled out. Attacks could be indiscriminate, including in places visited by foreign nationals.”

In January 2025, three officials visited and surveyed port security at a total cost of £8,830.57. Also early last year, three officials conducted an airport security assessment on a visit costing £7,426.97. In May 2025 three officials verified “corrective actions from the airport security assessment”, with the total cost of the trip coming to £3,260.35. One official and two external training providers visited in August last year, with the bill coming to £15,089.39. And in November 2025, two officials went to the Maldives to assess airport security at a cost of £6243.94.

Shadow transport minister Greg Smith said: “It is bizarre that the Department for Transport spent nearly £41,000 on travel to the Maldives in 2025. The reasons for these visits seem tenuous, to say the least.”

Transport minister Simon Lightwood said: “As part of the planning process, consideration was given to whether the engagement could be conducted remotely or combined with other official travel. While some preparatory and follow‑up activity was undertaken virtually, aspects of the engagement required on‑site delivery at the airport and therefore could not be fully conducted remotely.”

Callum McGoldrick of the Taxpayers’ Alliance said: “Taxpayers will want to know why more than £40,000 was spent sending officials to the Maldives five times in a single year. Security work may require overseas visits, but repeated trips to the same destination demand proper scrutiny and proof that costs were kept to an absolute minimum.

“DfT bosses must publish the results of this work and show taxpayers they received more than an expensive island-hopping exercise.”

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “These visits to Maldives – one of the Government’s key security partners in the Indo-Pacific – are part of essential international security work to help keep flights travelling to the UK safe from terrorism. While much of this work is carried out remotely, assessments of the security of live airports and ports simply must be done on the ground.”

DfT experts assess security arrangements at overseas airports identified as “higher risk” and provide training when weaknesses are identified.