LIZ Truss spent more than £500,000 of taxpayers’ cash on private jets in just three months.
The Liberal Democrats accused the Foreign Secretary of “frittering away” public funds by failing to take scheduled flights like her junior ministers.
As Chief Secretary to the Treasury in 2019, Ms Truss vowed to cut down on “public sector waste”, saying she would “make sure that all public spending is justified”.
Ms Truss is currently vying with former Chancellor Rishi Sunak for the leadership of the Tory party and the keys to Downing Street.
The bills were racked up between October and December 2021, the latest period for which figures are available.
New data published by the Foreign Office show Ms Truss and 10 officials spent £300,545 travelling on a private jet during a week-long trip to Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia in October.
In December, she spent another £105,114 on a private government plane on a five-day visit with nine officials to Estonia, Latvia and Sweden.
She also spent £4,464 on an RAF flight on a two-day round trip to Madrid with eight officials the same month.
In October, Ms Truss and 11 officials flew to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and India over six days on a private government jet costing £95,679.
All other foreign office ministers took scheduled flights during the same period.
A Truss campaign source defended her use of the official jet to the Mirror newspaper, arguing the on-board wifi and privacy allowed her to “work more and harder.”
The LibDems said the total cost of Ms Truss’s 100,000-miles of flying would have been enough to fund a free school meal for around 210,000 children.
The party called on the Foreign Secretary to say how much she had spent since on an official government plane instead of scheduled flights.
In January, Ms Truss also flew to Australia and was in Indonesia in June for the G20 summit, a trip she cut short to fly back as Boris Johnson’s premiership unravelled.
Ministers are expected to use scheduled flights where possible to be “cost-effective.”
The Ministerial Code says: “Ministers must ensure that they always make efficient and cost-effective travel arrangements.”
LibDem Cabinet Office spokesperson and MP for Edinburgh West Christine Jardine said: “It is staggering that Liz Truss is frittering away so much taxpayers’ cash flying around the world on private jets. It shows she is completely out of touch with families at home struggling to pay the bills.
“Truss really is no different to Boris Johnson, who she propped up until the bitter end. She is taking voters around the country for granted and showing it is one rule for her and another for the rest of us.
“Liz Truss should come clean about how much money she’s wasted on private jets since becoming Foreign Secretary. Given she wants to be our next prime minister, the public deserves to know.”
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