Liz Truss meets at Chevening with Baltic foreign ministers when she was Foreign Minister Photo: Holly Adams/PA
Liz Truss challenging a £12,000 government bill relating to her use of a fertile country house to which she had access as foreign minister.
The former prime minister was asked to pay expenses incurred during her stay at Chevening Manor, including for missing items such as a bathrobe and slippers.
The bill refers to the summer of 2022, when she was preparing for her 49-day premiership, and it is assumed that Mr. Ms Truss received it a few weeks ago.
Chevening, a 115-room country house in Kent, was left to the nation by the 7th Earl Stanhope upon his death in 1967 and was traditionally used by the then Foreign Secretary.
A source told the Mail on Sunday: “Liz used Chevening as mini-Number 10, holding meetings with his inner circle, which often turned into parties in the evenings.
“In the cabinet, the staff of the house reported that items such as terry dressing gowns and even slippers disappeared during this period, and asked her to cover the costs.
“They also objected to the idea that the taxpayer should pay the bill for a series of summer parties and say she owes over £12,000 for it.”
Ms Truss used Chevening to meet other foreign officials, including Maros Sefkovic. Photo: Ben Stansall/AFP via Getty Images
Ms Truss' spokesperson said she would be happy to replace any missing items, such as bathrobes and slippers.
But she claims that the vast majority of the bill is for official government business, for which she should not be held responsible, and not personal expenses.
A spokesperson for Ms Truss said: “Liz has always paid for the expenses of her personal guests in Chevening.
“The latest bill contains a mixture of spending on her personally and spending on official government affairs with government employees, including [Cabinet Secretary] Simon Case and high-ranking officials from other departments who met at Chevening during the preparation to the transition.
“The latter makes up the bulk of the bill. It would be inappropriate for her to pay expenses for officials, as it would be a violation of the Civil Service Code for civil servants if they accepted hospitality during the campaign. So she requested that this bill be billed separately.”
Requested an accurate bill.
Another source close to Ms Truss said: “This August 2022 bill was sent to Liz by Chevening just at the beginning of this months.”
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“She has requested an accurate invoice and will pay it as soon as she receives it.”
Ms Truss was Foreign Minister when she used Chevening House in August 2022 years, preparing for power during the struggle for the leadership of the Tories. .
The ministerial code of practice states that “when ministers hold parties or private events at [official] residences, this must be at their own expense or at the party's expense, without any cost to the state budget.”
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