Outrage as Commons Speaker Charges Taxpayers £21,000 for Flights – Plus £500 for an ‘Extra Suitcase’
Sir Lindsay Hoyle is reported to have splashed more than £250,000 worth of taxpayers’ cash on overseas trips.
Sir Lindsay Hoyle spent over £500 of taxpayers’ money on extra baggage during an overseas trip (Image: Getty)
The Speaker of the House of Commons billed taxpayers just over £500 to take extra baggage on a trip overseas. Sir Lindsay Hoyle’s expenses show he made a claim for a nine day trip to South Africa and the British Overseas Territory St Helena in the South Atlantic.
The total bill for the trip came to £23,643, which included £21,300 on flights with British Airways and South African carrier, Airlink. A sum of £504 was paid to take an extra suitcase on board, according to MailOnline.
Sir Lindsey’s office said the baggage allowance on the Airlink flight from South Africa to St Helena was smaller than the London to Johannesburg leg, so the cost set by the airline for one suitcase had to be paid for separately.
Sir Lindsay was on a trip to South Africa and St Helena (pictured) (Image: Getty)
A spokesperson from the Speaker’s Office added: “The case contained necessary resources to support the trip.”
David Jones, a former Conservative Brexit minister, said: “How many clothes do you need for St Helena? It’s in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and I wouldn’t have thought there’d be many black tie events there.”
He argued that all parliamentarians have a duty to consider the value of taxpayers’ money, adding Brits finding it “difficult” to make ends meet will be concerned by use of public money on what “might be described as jaunts to exotic parts of the world”.
Sir Lindsay’s expenses list reportedly shows the Speaker opts to travel in business class or first class, including on short haul flights to Ireland and Italy.
He is reported to have chartered a private jet to Montserrat in the Caribbean. A trip to Canberra in January 2023 for a Commonwealth conference saw the Speaker rack up more than £40,000.
Sir Lindsay Hoyle has reportedly splashed more than £250,000 on overseas trips (Image: Getty)
The Speaker splashed more than £250,000 of taxpayers’ cash on 19 jaunts since October 2022. His predecessor, John Bercow, is reported to have taken 10 years to reach the same total for “non-regular” overseas travel.
According to Parliament, part of the Speaker’s role is to act as an “ambassador” for the House of Commons and is responsible for promoting its work and representing it at “high-profile” events.
Meetings Sir Lindsay is expected to attend as part of his role include a G7 Speakers Conference, a G20 Speaker’s Conference, the Commonwealth Speakers and Presiding Officers Conference and the European Speakers Conference.
Sir Lindsay’s costs relate to his role as Speaker, which aren’t administered by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. IPSA deals with MPs’ expenses from their roles as Members of Parliament.
