In 2022, Ms. Truss is responsible for about 51% of the government’s spending on foreign flights, lodging and meals, government documents show
Globetrotter Liz Truss billed a whopping £1.8million traveling abroad on government private jets last year, official figures show.
In 2022, Ms Truss will spend about 51 per cent of government spending on foreign flights, accommodation and meals, government documents show. Ms Truss was foreign secretary until September last year, after which she was prime minister for just over a month.
The Mirror previously revealed that in just three months to the end of 2021, she had spent more than £500,000 in taxpayer cash on flights. A source in her leadership campaign said she was flying on a private jet with WiFi and privacy, rather than a commercial airline. Allow her to “work harder”. But she has been criticized for flying commercial airliners using private jets, including luxury lie-flat seats. The official plane used by Ms Truss is usually reserved for business jets. Between September 2021 and July 2022, she took 78 flights, 69 of which were carried by the prime minister and members of the royal family.
She flew to Indonesia on a VIP flight that month for a meeting of G20 foreign ministers, but cut her trip short and flew straight back to drum up support for her successor as prime minister from Boris Johnson. She waited only a mandatory rest for the flight crew in Bali before taking the 18-hour flight back to London to drum up support for her campaign. The trip cost taxpayers £370,000.
Earlier in January 2022, Ms Truss traveled around Australia on an official charter plane at a cost of £454,626.59. An analysis of ministers’ overseas travel by the Taxpayers’ Union found that Defense Secretary Ben Wallace came in second. At least £197,058 was spent, compared with £141,140 for Foreign Secretary James Cleverly.
John O’Connell, chief executive of the Taxpayers’ Union, said: “Taxpayers will be shocked by these sky-high figures. While financially struggling families are struggling to make ends meet, they are also expected to add to the costs of ministers traveling the world .Ministers should ensure that any overseas travel is worthwhile for taxpayers.”
A spokesman for the Foreign Office said: “The Foreign Secretary’s job requires travel abroad in pursuit of the interests of the UK and these trips are often complex and may involve multiple destinations. Value for money is considered in all travel decisions and costs are published regularly for transparency .”
