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PA

Liz Truss contests £12,000 bill from UK Government over use of country retreat

Truss has been asked to pay about £12,000 for costs incurred while she spent time at the estate last summer.

FORMER UK PRIME MINISTER Liz Truss is contesting a bill from the UK Government relating to her use of a country house she had access to as foreign secretary.

Truss has been asked to pay about £12,000 ( €13,500) for costs incurred while she spent time at the Chevening estate, the Mail on Sunday reported.

The invoice covers the period last summer when she was preparing for her short-lived term as prime minister and is understood to have been received by Truss several weeks ago.

Chevening, a 115-room country retreat in Kent, was left to the nation by an earl after his death in 1967 and has traditionally been used by the foreign secretary.

The PA news agency has been told Truss is happy to replace any items said to be missing from the estate, reported to include bathrobes and slippers.

But the former prime minister maintains the vast majority of the invoice relates to official government business, for which she should not be liable.

A spokesman for Truss said: “Liz always paid for the costs of her personal guests at Chevening.

“The latest invoice contains a mixture of costs for her personally and costs for official government business with civil servants including (Cabinet Secretary) Simon Case and senior officials from other departments who met at Chevening during the transition preparations.

“The latter constitutes the majority of the bill. It would be inappropriate for her to pay the costs for officials as it would have breached the Civil Service Code for civil servants to accept hospitality during the leadership campaign. She has therefore asked for this to be billed separately.”

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    Mute dream catcher
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    Apr 30th 2023, 6:18 PM

    Jaysus, could you ever imagine this story about an ex Taoiseach making the UK newsheadlines?

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    Mute William Slevin
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    Apr 30th 2023, 6:20 PM

    @dream catcher: I know it’s rediculouse…

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    Mute William Slevin
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    Apr 30th 2023, 6:25 PM

    Why oh why @thejournal.ie do you delete so many comments that don’t break your guidelines grant it my second comment wasn’t it the rules of staying on topic but my first one was…its all very strange behaviour…

    Was it the part I called thejournal.ie establishment dogs and liers lol ah well you’s just hate the truth…

    Tell me this are you’s owned by Dennis o’brien…you’s seem to love doing the devil’s work….

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    Mute Denis Ryan
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    Apr 30th 2023, 7:45 PM

    @William Slevin: free will, if you don’t like it move on.

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    Mute William Slevin
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    Apr 30th 2023, 7:50 PM

    @Denis Ryan: wrong…we agree to a contract when we sign up…that means whe thejournal.ie disregards it’s own guidelines and t&c deleting comments it’s breaking that contract between us…

    So no…not free will…and no I will not move on…I will keep pushing for thejournal.ie to live up to its own standards and contract with me as a user….

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    Mute Robert Halvey
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    Apr 30th 2023, 8:20 PM

    To think that liz was probably the most honest British prime minister in 13 years ,

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    Mute Mick de Neeve
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    Apr 30th 2023, 9:31 PM

    @Robert Halvey: Because she wasn’t allowed sufficient time in office.

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    Mute Murf
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    May 1st 2023, 9:13 AM

    @Mick de Neeve: How Cheap was she, Bathrobes & slippers??? Ha Ha Ha Ha.

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    Mute Murf
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    May 2nd 2023, 1:31 PM

    @Mick de Neeve: What A Cheap skate. How can a person stoop that low?

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