Exclusive: Liz Truss Cost Taxpayers £369,000 For Trip She Cut Short To Launch Tory Leadership Bid
Liz Truss spent £369,000 of taxpayers’ money on a trip to Bali which she ended up cutting short to launch her Tory leadership bid, HuffPost UK can reveal.
Official data released by the government shows the huge cost to the public purse of the then foreign secretary hiring the government’s official plane to attend a meeting of G20 foreign ministers in Indonesia.
But she spent less than 24 hours in the country after Boris Johnson announced he was resigning while she was out of the country.
Truss then flew back to London to drum up support for her successful bid to succeed him as prime minister.
She landed in Bali at 12.41pm local time on July 7 and took off again at 8.52am the following day.
That means the total cost the taxpayer was £18,450 for every hour she spent on the ground.
The G20 foreign ministers' meeting went ahead without Liz Truss
Shadow attorney general Emily Thornberry said: “What more evidence do we need of the grotesque waste that has become endemic under this Tory government, what more evidence do we need that all they care about is advancing their own career prospects, rather than fulfilling their responsibilities to our country?”
Baroness Mone takes leave of absence to ‘clear her name’ over PPE allegations.
Tory peer Baroness Mone is taking a leave of absence from the House of Lords to “clear her name” over allegations about her links to a firm awarded contracts for personal protective equipment (PPE) during the coronavirus pandemic.
The news emerged as Labour prepared to force the Government to release records relating to the award of contracts to PPE Medpro.
Reports – denied by Lady Mone – have suggested the peer may have profited from PPE Medpro winning public contracts worth more than £200 million to supply equipment after she recommended it to ministers in the early days of the pandemic.
The peer, who founded lingerie firm Ultimo, claims the accusations have been “unjustly” levelled against her.
A statement released by her office said: “With immediate effect, Baroness Mone will be taking a leave of absence from the House of Lords in order to clear her name of the allegations that have been unjustly levelled against her.”
The leave of absence means Lady Mone will not attend sittings of the House, vote on any proceedings, and will not be able to claim any allowance.
Labour will present a humble address motion later on Tuesday to force a binding Commons vote to secure the release of documents relating to the contracts.
Tory MPs are not expected to be ordered to oppose the motion, which will require the details of the contracts to be handed to the Commons Public Accounts Committee.
The Lords standards watchdog is investigating Baroness Mone over her alleged involvement in procuring contracts for PPE Medpro, although this has been paused “while the matter is under investigation by the police or another agency as part of a criminal investigation”.
The Guardian newspaper last week reported that the Tory peer and her children received £29 million originating from profits of the company.
Lady Mone has consistently denied any “role or function” in the company, and her lawyers have previously said she is “not connected to PPE Medpro in any capacity”.
The Government has also come under fire for the use of “VIP lanes”, whereby preferential treatment for public contracts can be given to organisations recommended by MPs and peers.
The motion tabled by Labour in the Commons would compel the release of “all papers, advice, and correspondence involving ministers and special advisers, including submissions and electronic communications” relating to the PPE Medpro contracts to the Public Accounts Committee.
Lady Mone chose to take the leave of absence and Labour claimed Rishi Sunak had been “too weak” to act himself.
Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner said: “The Tories are all out of excuses. Ministers must now set out clear timelines on when, where, and how this information will be released.
“They can’t keep taking the public for fools by refusing to come clean on what they knew about this dodgy deal.
“Rishi Sunak was too weak to remove the whip and has left it to Baroness Mone to finally read the writing on the wall.”
Government sues Baroness Mone-linked PPE company
The DHSC said it had issued breach of contract proceedings, reported to be for £122 million, over the 2020 deal on the supply of gowns.
Michelle Mone's husband donated more than £170,000 to the Conservative Party in the years before a firm linked to the couple landed a £203 million government contract
The lingerie tycoon, Michelle Mone, nicknamed Baroness Bra, and her financier husband Doug Barrowman, have been accused of banking tens of millions of pounds.
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https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/investigation-into-uk-deputy-pm-raab-widened-to-consider-five-further-complaints/ar-AA15gkQk?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=ac2f654e30074c31b252378d8f9064d9
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/health/medical/tory-mp-alleges-cover-up-of-covid-vaccine-inflaming-heart-arteries-in-bombshell-claim/ar-AA15f385?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=264f01488e644f458124dccf2436d21a
Exclusive: Liz Truss Cost Taxpayers £369,000 For Trip She Cut Short To Launch Tory Leadership Bid
Liz Truss spent £369,000 of taxpayers’ money on a trip to Bali which she ended up cutting short to launch her Tory leadership bid, HuffPost UK can reveal.
Official data released by the government shows the huge cost to the public purse of the then foreign secretary hiring the government’s official plane to attend a meeting of G20 foreign ministers in Indonesia.
But she spent less than 24 hours in the country after Boris Johnson announced he was resigning while she was out of the country.
Truss then flew back to London to drum up support for her successful bid to succeed him as prime minister.
She landed in Bali at 12.41pm local time on July 7 and took off again at 8.52am the following day.
That means the total cost the taxpayer was £18,450 for every hour she spent on the ground.
The G20 foreign ministers' meeting went ahead without Liz Truss
Shadow attorney general Emily Thornberry said: “What more evidence do we need of the grotesque waste that has become endemic under this Tory government, what more evidence do we need that all they care about is advancing their own career prospects, rather than fulfilling their responsibilities to our country?”
https://uk.yahoo.com/news/exclusive-liz-truss-cost-taxpayers-160518846.html
https://uk.yahoo.com/news/traces-suspected-cocaine-found-parties-140752125.html
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/david-frost-handed-26-000-after-quitting-as-uk-s-brexit-negotiator/ar-AA15nyM0?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=dc672c206d8242f8b370086edf5936b3
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-63998059
Businessman Mr Barrowman, 57, has been charged with criminal offences including corporate tax evasion, The Mirror reports.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11548793/Michelle-Mones-business-husband-Doug-Barrowman-faces-jail-convicted-Spanish-tax-charge.html
The DHSC said it had issued breach of contract proceedings, reported to be for £122 million, over the 2020 deal on the supply of gowns.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/other/government-sues-baroness-mone-linked-ppe-company/ar-AA15sf85?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=7a794a7a80584cbb896ef8a9f959b4f5
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/andrew-bridgen-suspended-from-parliament-after-breaching-mps-lobbying-rules/ar-AA15tOe9?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=2fadd42628b34facb23e8bda3b734c09
The lingerie tycoon, Michelle Mone, nicknamed Baroness Bra, and her financier husband Doug Barrowman, have been accused of banking tens of millions of pounds.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11590805/Michelle-Mones-husband-donated-170-000-Conservative-Party.html