...By Judah Olanisebee for TDPel Media.
Liz Truss, former UK Prime Minister, has been asked by the Cabinet Office to pay more than £12,000 to cover the cost of missing items, such as bathrobes, alcohol, and slippers, from the Chevening country estate.
Truss is said to have used the estate for a series of summer parties with her aides in August last year, and officials claim that the taxpayer should not bear the cost of what they consider to have been party political events rather than state business.
The Cabinet Office has requested that Truss pays for the missing items, the food and drink she and her aides consumed, and any other costs related to the parties.
According to an insider, the Cabinet Office was informed by the estate’s staff that items such as towels and slippers disappeared during the period when Truss and her team were in residence.
The source also claimed that Truss used Chevening as a mini-Number 10, holding meetings with her inner circle that often turned into evening parties.
The insider added that officials said Truss owed over £12,000.
Civil servants argued that the costs were incurred for party political reasons rather than on state business.
Truss’s spokesperson, however, revealed that the former Prime Minister contested the invoice, arguing that she always paid for the cost of her personal guests at Chevening.
The spokesperson added that the invoice contains a mixture of costs for Truss personally and official government business, with the latter accounting for the majority of the bill.
The spokesperson confirmed that Truss would pay for her guests, including the cost of any missing items.
Nonetheless, he noted that the vast majority of charges related to official meetings with civil servants, including Cabinet Secretary Simon Case.
He also argued that it would be inappropriate for Truss to pay the cost for officials as it would have breached the Civil Service Code for civil servants to accept hospitality during the leadership campaign, and Truss had asked for this to be billed separately.
The news of Truss’s bill comes after the resignation of the former Prime Minister in 2021 after a 49-day tenure.
Truss is also known for her nickname “Lettuce” and has served in various government roles, including International Trade Secretary, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, and Environment Secretary.
