Police fork out £15,000 for private jet to bring influencer home to face justice

The 24-year-old failed to appear in court for 12 months after the crash, travelling to Dubai, Thailand and Spain and continuing to make social media content, the court previously heard.

He was eventually detained for unrelated matters in Spain in August last year.

Surrey Police spent around £15,000 on a chartered flight to bring him back to the UK, a hearing at Staines Magistrates’ Court was told on Thursday.

The total costs to both the force and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to bring Sullivan back to the UK after the crash reached £28,350.27, the hearing was told.

The judge was told the decision was made following a risk assessment conducted by the National Extradition Unit, though the details of this were not disclosed in court.

Prosecution Kane Alexander, however, told the judge there were concerns that Sullivan – a fitness influencer – could be recognised by members of the public on a commercial plane.

Judge Cooper said: “It seems that Mr Sullivan travels around on planes with impunity without too much risk to himself, so I don’t really understand.

“In my view, it is not just or reasonable for him to pay a chartered flight when I have been given no satisfactory explanation for why that should be.”

She added: “I can understand that there would be some issues with social media.

“But the problem could have been resolved or reduced had first-class flight been obtained to place the defendant in that area, so he was not in view of members of the public whilst in handcuffs.”

Defence solicitor Shalin Sood told the judge Sullivan was “surprised by the private jet” and was “completely calm and compliant” while in police custody.

“We understand that Mr Sullivan did evade custody, we understand that more than usual costs had to be incurred, but a private jet did not have to be chartered,” she said.

Referring to the costs incurred throughout the investigation, which the court heard required partnership with foreign agencies including Interpol, Ms Sood added: “It’s not rocket science trying to locate where Mr Sullivan is, judge – he livestreams everyday.”

The judge ordered Sullivan to pay £9,270 in prosecution costs, and £8,050.27 in police costs – bringing the total bill to £17,320.27.

Ms Sood told the judge Sullivan’s income could be approximated to £2,000-a-week, but that it was “inconsistent”.

“There is no way he will be able to make this payment in one go, or even in a year’s time,” she said.

Judge Cooper, however, seemed to reject this claim, asking: “What about his properties in the United Arab Emirates?”

She then added: “I’m going to give him six months to pay this and if there is a problem with that, he is going to have to come back and explain why.”

Sullivan was handed a one-year suspended custodial sentence at Staines Magistrates’ Court in November last year after pleading guilty to dangerous driving and driving without insurance.

The social media star has also been disqualified from driving for two years.

He will have an electronic tag for three months and is expected to complete 300 hours of unpaid work and 30 days of rehabilitation.

The court previously heard Sullivan, who is reportedly set to appear in a Louis Theroux documentary about online misogyny, was seen by witnesses “in a supercar going extremely fast” with one saying he was travelling at “at least 100mph or more” before the crash in Surrey in March 2024.

Data from the crashed McLaren indicated Sullivan was travelling at 71mph in a 40mph zone at the moment of the crash, the court heard.

Surrey Police said in a statement: “The decision to use a private charter was based on a risk assessment conducted by the National Crime Agency's National Extradition Unit, after all other options had been considered and were unfortunately not viable to mitigate the perceived risks.

“Surrey Police is committed to reducing the number of fatal and serious injury collisions on our roads and we will hold people to account who endanger the lives of others. The manner of Sullivan’s driving was incredibly dangerous.

“He was driving at 70mph in a 40mph speed zone, and collisions at this speed often result in serious injuries and fatalities. Sullivan then actively evaded police and it was imperative for the safety of Surrey’s roads, that we returned Sullivan to the UK to face trial for the offences he was originally charged with.

"Surrey Police therefore funded £15,990 to cover the cost of the flight.”