HUMZA Yousaf has been accused of “entitlement and self-indulgence” after staying in a £700-a-night hotel on his first trip to London as First Minister.
The accommodation cost more than double that of the Scottish Government’s top law officer when she stayed in the capital later the same week.
Newly released official records show the public purse was billed £1,380 for Mr Yousaf to spend two nights at the unnamed hotel in April, or £690 a night.
His business class return flights between Edinburgh and London City cost a further £534.
The Scottish Tories accused him of insulting voters with the "eyewatering" costs.
Mr Yousaf’s high-profile three-day trip from Monday April 24 to the 26th was his first to London since he became SNP leader and FM at the end of March.
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While in London he met Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, when he complained about an alcohol duty hike on Scotch whisky, and London’s Labour mayor Sadiq Khan.
He also met the EU Ambassador to the UK and the Ukrainian Ambassador, and then had dinner with the German Ambassador and other diplomats.
The records show that Mr Yousaf's top legal adviser in government, the Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain KC, was in London in the days immediately after him.
Her first class return rail ticket between Edinburgh and King’s Cross was £400, while her two nights at a hotel came to £574, or £287 per night, less than half the cost of the FM’s room.
Glasgow Tory MSP Annie Wells MSP said: “Humza Yousaf’s eyewatering hotel tab is a kick in the teeth to taxpayers.
“It is wrong that hardworking Scots are footing an enormous bill for the First Minister to be living the high life in London, especially when so many are struggling with a cost-of-living crisis.
“At a time when his government is making swingeing cuts to public services, Humza Yousaf should be setting a prudent example, but charging the public £700 per night for his trip smacks of entitlement and self-indulgence.
“It is a stark reminder that the SNP are completely out-of-touch with people’s real priorities.”
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A month after she announced her resignation in February, Mr Yousaf’s predecessor Nicola Sturgeon charged taxpayers £1200 for a farewell trip to London.
Snubbing an invitation to appear before the Commons Scottish Affairs Committee, the then FM appeared on ITV’s Loose Women show and gave a speech at the Royal Society of Arts.
Her two-day trip cost £1,230: a hotel at £515 for a night and business class return flights between Glasgow and London City Airport costing £715.
Mr Sunak is taoday facing criticism for taking a private jet to Aberdeenshire for an announcement on green jobs rather than using a scheduled flight.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Travel is an essential part of official Government business.
"All travel costs are in accordance with travel and subsistence policies to ensure we deliver the best value for money possible for the Scottish taxpayer.
"The Scottish Government takes its responsibility to travel sustainably very seriously and aims to use sustainable forms of transport whenever possible.”
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