Home Office figures published in Parliament show that since April 2007, the department has spent £611,470 on “living costs” for people put under effective house arrest on the advice of MI5. The money has been spent on accommodation, council tax, utility bills, telephone line rental, prepaid telephone cards, phone bills and “other subsistence," the Home Office said.
There are currently 13 people under control orders, controversial legal restraints on their movements and actions that are imposed because the security services say they pose a terrorist threat.
Since the orders were introduced in 2005, a total of 44 people have had orders imposed on them.
Of those, 24 have received money for their living expenses. That suggests that each has received an average of more than £25,000 although details of payments to each individual have not been disclosed.
Separate figures released under the Freedom of Information Act show that the total cost to the Home Office of the control orders regime since April 2006 is £9.4 million.
Since 2007, £180,000 has been paid to private security companies contracted to carry out “electronic monitoring” of the suspects.
The figures were uncovered by the Conservatives, who said they strengthened the case for scrapping control orders and putting suspects on trial.
People subject to control orders cannot be legally identified, but are alleged by the security services to be terrorists who would pose a direct threat to national security if they were allowed to remain at large.
However, the Government says they cannot be put on trial because the security services say the information that would be used to prosecute them is too sensitive to disclose in court.
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