London: Former British prime minister Liz Truss is contesting a £12,000 ($22,760) government bill relating to her use of the grace-and-favour country house she had access to as foreign secretary.
The former prime minister has been asked to pay for costs incurred while she spent time at the Chevening estate, including for missing items such as a bathrobe and slippers.
Liz Truss, seen here at Chevening House in January, has requested a revised invoice.Credit: Bloomberg
The invoice covers the period in the northern summer of 2022 when she was preparing for her 49-day premiership and is understood to have been received by her several weeks ago.
Chevening, a 115-room country retreat in Kent, was left to the nation by the 7th Earl Stanhope after his death in 1967 and has traditionally been used by the foreign secretary of the day.
A source told the Mail on Sunday: “Liz used Chevening as a mini Number 10, holding meetings with her inner circle which often turned into parties in the evening. The Cabinet Office was told by staff at the house that items such as towelling robes and even slippers vanished during that period, and have asked her to cover the cost.
“They have also objected to the idea that the taxpayer should foot the bill for what were basically a series of summer parties, and say she owes more than £12,000 for it.”
Maros Sefcovic, vice president of the European Commission, left, and Liz Truss, Britain’s then-foreign secretary, walk in the gardens at Chevening House in Chevening, UK.Credit: Bloomberg
A spokesman for Truss said she was happy to replace any missing items, such as the bathrobes and slippers.
But she maintained the vast majority of the invoice related to official government business for which she should not be liable, rather than personal expenses.
