It is understood the flash motor - a £190,000 Lamborghini Murcielago LP640 - was put on a plane in the Middle East and shipped to the UK for the service, before being flown back.

The car, which averages only 10 miles per gallon is not the most eco friendly at the best of times, but this journey could even make Jeremy Clarkson twinge with guilt.

The shipping would have cost more than £20,000 and environmental groups claim it would have created a carbon-crater rather than footprint.

Qatar Airways confirmed it carried the vehicle, the same model as one which features in the latest Batman movie The Dark Knight.