Facts

Truss described herself as a naturally thrifty person. This does not reflect her extravagant use of tax-payer’s money on numerous occasions.

Truss used public money to wine-and-dine an American envoy, with the initial bill being over £3,000. It was later reduced to £1,400 after an emergency immediate payment was made. Truss was warned by civil servants that a cheaper venue should be considered, but refused to change the venue.

Truss has also spent tax-payer’s money on other occasions. Over £25,000 was spent on a four-night trip to Singapore in 2020. This included over £1,000 per head on expenses over four nights. A similarly expensive trip to Japan in 2020 cost over £20,000. In both occasions, the figures supplied by the government were initially wrong and were only corrected by a junior minister following a freedom of information request.

Despite being on a salary of £81,932.04, Truss claimed over £2,400 on accommodation expenses between 2021-2022. Public money paid for her council tax, phone, internet and utility bills, and the salaries of her staff, worth over £160,000, in 2020-21.

According to the Independent, Liz Truss as Foreign secretary flew  by private jet to Australia at a cost of over half a million pounds to the taxpayer, rather than using scheduled flights that would have been faster and far cheaper.

Verdict

Truss has a history of spending public money extravagantly. Her description of herself as thrifty is hard to reconcile with her extravagant spending history in government.  

We emailed Liz Truss’ office offering her the chance to respond. The email was received, but no reply.