The Metropolitan Police has come under fire for organising an Easter egg hunt for officers at one of London's major counter-terrorism hubs.
Elite policing units based at the Empress State Building in west London are being offered the activity today.
Critics have slammed the force for prioritising "ludicrous" team-building exercises while crime rates soar and thousands of cases remain unsolved across the capital.
The Easter egg hunt has been advertised through posters displayed throughout the 31-storey building.
The Met Police took part in the team building activity
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Staff from any level of the building are free to attend, including non-police partner agencies.
However, children are not welcome at the event, according to reports.
The hunt is taking place at the Empress State Building, which houses teams specialising in organised crime and counter-terrorism operations.
Former Met Police detective Peter Bleksley told the Daily Mail the decision was "ludicrous" and made for terrible optics.
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Empress State Building in Hammersmith
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"While London burns and people don't get an investigation into their burglaries, car theft, the theft of tools from their van, harassment on the Tube, having their phones snatched," Bleksley said.
"No wonder there's a crime wave," Bleksley added, highlighting the millions of unsolved crimes in the city. Londoners took to social media to express their disbelief at the Easter egg hunt.
One person sarcastically commented: "So they hunt Easter Eggs now? That makes me feel a whole lot safer."
Others made jokes about the Met's ability to solve crimes, with one asking: "Given their inability to find criminals are we expecting the hunt to go well?"
Another added: "I bet they don't find any!!"
A Metropolitan Police spokesman defended the event, saying: "The Easter Egg Hunt is a short, team-building event open to any employee who wishes to attend, as well as any partner agencies who might be in the building.
"Those who take part will be using their scheduled break times and nobody will be prioritising this event over responding to urgent calls or dealing with core police work."
Some supporters questioned the outrage, noting that officers dealing with traumatic situations deserve team-building activities.
The Empress State Building first opened as a counter-terror hub in 2021 following a £412 million investment in counter-terrorism operations.
