Taxpayers’ money has funded the “high life” for ministers travelling abroad and paid for five star hotels, Labour claims after Government spending was analysed. Rishi Sunak’s Treasury spent £3,217 on accommodation at the five-star Hotel Danieli in Venice and £1,361 at the four-star Hotel Bonvecchiati for the then chancellor and 11 other government representatives at a G20 meeting in July 2021.
In July 2022 Tory party chairman Greg Hands stayed in a £318-a-night five-star hotel in Germany while he was energy minister, while Alok Sharma’s 66 trips as president of the Cop26 climate summit cost taxpayers £220,817 just for his own travel and hotels. The figures were revealed through analysis of official figures and a string of parliamentary questions on the use of government procurement cards (GPCs), with Labour promising to publish a dossier on their use on Monday.
Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner said: “As Conservative ministers once again reach into the pockets of taxpayers to dine out on five-star luxury lifestyle, families up and down the country are sick with anxiety about whether their pay cheque will cover the weekly shop. Britain is facing the worst cost-of-living crisis in decades and Rishi Sunak doesn’t seem to have noticed.
