Homonculus - no, only the British press can make a scandal out of something that is not.
Training sorties are exactly that and if any training benefit is gained from the activity, it is by definition justified. I flew PW for 2 hours over the sea teaching him SAR techniques - he is never going to be a SAR pilot (not because of lack of ability) but the training benefit was there for him, the Radop, the winchman and me as the QHI. Want to call that a waste of taxpayers money as well?