Labour is launching a campaign accusing government ministers and officials of spending taxpayer-funded credit cards on luxury travel and hotels, claiming they are using public money “like a cash machine”. In an attempt to inflict further damage to the Tory party’s credentials as sound managers of public finances, Keir Starmer’s party is deploying a social media blitz to highlight five-star hotel visits by the likes of Rishi Sunak and new Tory chairman Greg Hands. However, a senior Tory source said that information about the use of government procurement cards (GPCs) was already in the public domain, while transparency about their use had been brought in by the Tory-led government in 2011. Some also queried what level of hotel stay Labour thought was appropriate for government officials and guests. Labour will publish its dossier of findings on Monday and on a dedicated website, www.theGPCfiles.com. It states that Sunak stayed in the five-star Hotel Danieli in Venice when attending the G20 meeting of finance ministers in July 2021 as chancellor, with more than £4,500 spent on accommodation for Sunak and his aides.
Hands is also singled out for staying for two nights in the £318 per night five-star Grand Hotel Petersberg in Koenigswinter, Germany, in order to attend a private gathering of European policymakers. Alok Sharma is listed as staying in a series of five-star hotels in Berlin, Saigon, Tianjin and twice in Seoul – at costs of up to £255 per night – during the 66 trips he made as Cop26 president. Labour said it cost at least £220,817 for his travel and hotels. Under Sunak, the Treasury also hired a £3,600 chauffeur service for ministers and officials visiting Cop26 in November 2021. The same chauffeur service was hired by Nadhim Zahawi’s department for £1,040 during his own trip to Cop26. Former minister Nigel Adams is named as spending £9,289 on a visit to Japan in July 2022 in order to “confirm the UK’s commitment to the Osaka Expo”, which takes place in 2025. Adams announced he was leaving the government five and a half weeks after the trip. Labour said a late request for an official from the Department for International Trade to accompany him added an extra £8,110 flight to the costs of the trip. In 2012, the public accounts committee (PAC) criticised the use of five-star hotels and expensive transport costs. Angela Rayner, deputy leader of the Labour party, said: “As Conservative ministers once again reach into the pockets of taxpayers to dine out on a five-star luxury lifestyle, families up and down the country are sick with anxiety about whether their pay cheque will cover the weekly shop. Far from actually governing, Conservative ministers are living the high life and treating taxpayers like a cash machine.”