Using a £16,000 private flight to extradite a TikTok influencer wanted on dangerous driving charges back to the UK was “not necessary or proportionate”, a judge has told Surrey police.
Harrison Sullivan, 24, known as HSTikkyTokky, had to be repatriated to the UK last summer after he avoided police custody for almost 12 months after a car crash in Virginia Water, Surrey, in March 2024.
When he was eventually detained for unrelated matters in Spain last August, Surrey police spent £15,990 on a chartered flight to bring him back to the UK from Málaga airport, according to the force.
Prosecution later applied for £18,049 to be paid to Surrey police for the flight and additional extradition expenses – but a judge sitting at Staines magistrates court on Thursday deemed the use of a private jet “not necessary or proportionate”.
In a statement, Surrey police defended their decision. It said: “The decision to use a private charter was based on a risk assessment conducted by the NCA’s national extradition unit, after all other options had been considered and were unfortunately not viable to mitigate the perceived risks.”
But the details of the risk assessment were not disclosed in court, which prompted district judge Julie Cooper to say: “In my view, it is not just or reasonable for him (Sullivan) to pay a chartered flight when I have been given no satisfactory explanation for why that should be.”
The force added in its statement that Sullivan’s extradition to the UK was “imperative for the safety of Surrey’s roads”.
“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,” the force said.
“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.”
Sullivan was handed a one-year suspended custodial sentence last November after pleading guilty to dangerous driving and driving without insurance.
The social media influencer has also been disqualified from driving for two years, will have an electronic tag for three months, and is expected to complete 300 hours of unpaid work and 30 days of rehabilitation.
The total costs to Surrey police and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to bring Sullivan back to the UK after the crash totalled £28,350.27, the hearing was told.
But Cooper brought the total bill down to £17,320.27, ordering Sullivan to pay £8,050.27 in costs to Surrey police, and £9,270 to the CPS respectively.
She deducted £10,000 off the police costs application because she was not satisfied the chartering of a private jet to repatriate Sullivan was justified.
Defence solicitor Shalin Sood told the hearing 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, Sood added: “It’s not rocket science trying to locate where Mr Sullivan is, judge – he livestreams every day.”
The fitness influencer is reportedly set to appear in a Louis Theroux documentary for Netflix exploring the impact of online misogyny.
In one viral clip, Theroux is seen reciting a previous remark Sullivan had made: “Call me racist, call me a misogynist, call me homophobic, call me a scammer – I’m all those things.”
Sullivan responded: “That’s my way of saying I don’t care. Say what you want about me, I am that, cool. I don’t care. And what?”
