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Spending watchdog's £27,000 restaurant bill
Jason Beattie, Chief Political Correspondent11.10.07
Sir John Bourn, the Government's spending watchdog, faced calls for his resignation today after new details of his expense claims were released.
Sir John has spent almost £27,000 in the past three years on dining out, including meals at some of London's best restaurants and hotels.
The comptroller and auditor general - responsible for investigating waste and extravagance in Whitehall - has also enjoyed the hospitality of major British firms including BAE Systems and IT contractor EDS.
Today's revelations follow the disclosure that Sir John had racked up a travel bill of £365,000 over the past three years. This included first-class travel with his wife to San Francisco, the Bahamas, Brazil, Lisbon and Venice.
The details of his expenses - released by the National Audit Office - prompted calls from opposition MPs for Sir John to consider his position.
According to the Audit Office, Sir John has enjoyed 164 lunches and dinners since 2004, including meals at the Ritz, Savoy, Dorchester, Wiltons, Mirabelle and Bibendum. The bills, nearly all for two people, vary from £80 to £301. The auditor general also visitedthe British Grand Prix as the guest of BAE systems; attended a polo match funded by EDS and visited the opera as the guest of GSL, a company promoting the public finance initiatives.
Sir John, 73, is a career civil servant who has worked in Whitehall for decades. Under his guidance, the National Audit Office has produced critical reports on the cost of the Olympics, government expenditure on IT projects and "unacceptable errors" in the tax credits system.
Kevan Jones, the Labour MP for Durham North, said: "Sir John is going to find himself in a very difficult position as the guardian of the public purse." His criticism was echoed by Norman Lamb, the Liberal Democrat health spokesman, who said Sir John should consider his position. "This behaviour is inappropriate and leaves him open to charges of conflict of interest," he said.
A spokeswoman for the Audit Office said Sir John would no longer take first-class flights or travel with his wife without parliamentary approval.
"We have decided to take the unprecedented step of volunteering all this information - even though nobody has requested all these details. We thought this would contribute to transparency and we intend to release all details of future expenditure on foreign trips and entertaining by Sir John and the senior management board of the NAO every six months." She added: "The auditor general justifies the dinners and lunches as part of the need for the NAO to keep in touch with a wide range of people, including companies that are doing business with government and the NAO."
Union leader Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union, said: "Poorly paid civil servants who face losing their jobs due to so-called efficiency drives will be astounded at the amount spent on trips abroad and the inappropriateness of some of the lunches.
"With government departments facing budget cuts and slashing jobs over the next three years, you would think that those responsible for ensuring value for money would lead by example."
Reader views (7)
Well maybe he thought that to get a proper idea of how wasteful government employees can be he had to push the limits to see just how it's done? I do hope that all his wife's travel is being taxed at 40% as a benefit in kind (ha! ha!).
- Paul, London
It's all just part of rip-off Britain. We pay over the odds for almost everything from shoes to petrol, why should we be surprised when our own 'public servants' jump on the gravy train and get us to pay for second homes, meals, even dry cleaning bills.
The public sector workers can expect to be squeezed again this year on pay - I have no doubt the MPs will all award themselves another above inflation pay rise - they nearly all seem to go very quiet at that time. Politics is no longer (was it ever) a vocation - it's a job and they want as much as they can get.
- Jim Macneilage, Edinburgh, UK
This is digusting. He should go immediately. Most people here can't afford to travel anywhere with the taxes we pay.
- Charlie, London
I think £27,000 restaurant bill for three years is being really prudent. I don't know why there should be any complaints. The business class travel is a bit over the top and they should be able to fly economy for shorter flights.
- Titus Raj, London
He's just been given a warning?! How about firing him and making him pay those first class trips back! Typical lefty/socialist behavior... Do as I say, and not as I do.
- Teri, United States
What worries me is that I am not surprised. Cynical, or what!
- Mr.Potter, Rotherham, S Yorks
I have one word 'discusting'. Why should a civil servant be entitled to anything but economy travel. The fact that this man deems himself so important that he is too good for business class travel reeks of the government 'don't do as I do, do as I tell you' attitude. If all MP's, civil servants were to travel economy think how much could be saved and put far more deserving causes.
- Alan, Stavanger, Norway
