LONDON The surprisingly vigorous relationship between City of London police and the Church of Scientology, the quasi-religious organisation beloved of Hollywood actors, has been exposed by a Freedom of Information inquiry by newspapers.
Records released by the police show a list of gifts ranging from refreshments worth up to £5 to tickets to the gala premiere of Mission: Impossible III, right. The film starred Tom Cruise, the most famous Scientologist.
Staff at Bishopsgate police station were treated to a concert by the Jive Aces, a Scientologist-filled band specialising in “hot jive and “big band swing”, and one chief superintendent enjoyed a lunch worth £20 courtesy of the Hubbard Foundation, the Scientology organisation named after the church’s founder, L. Ron Hubbard.
The relationship began after the London bombings on July 7 last year, when Scientologists offered support to people involved in the emergency operation.