As I said, I just did it. The UK does not require you to have a valid MEP in order to have a valid ME-IR.
I know some countries have a different interpretation of the regulations, but you can save quite a bit of money by revalidating in the sim every other year and not bothering with the MEP at all (bascially 300£ for a revalidation in the sim). Even if you revalidate in aircraft, you save money by not doing the MEP part (shorter flight + lower examiner fees, saves about 200£ at least)
Even with travel costs you should still be cheaper off!