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£605 room service bill on China trip
Ross Lydall, City Hall Editor18.01.08
Ken Livingstone ran up a £605.91 bill for room service during his visit to China two years ago, the Dispatches programme reveals.
The Mayor led a 77-strong delegation to Beijing and Shanghai in April 2006, opening offices in both cities and boosting Olympic links. Beijing hosts the Games this summer.
The six-day trip, which concluded with a concert in Shanghai by pop band Girls Aloud as part of a "London showcase", cost £145,000.
Mr Livingstone flew first-class on British Airways and was understood to have been given the Queen's seat - 1A - on the journey to Beijing.
The programme claims there is also "some confusion" about £594 spent in China on a credit card by the Mayor. It used the Freedom of Information Act to obtain his credit card bill.
Other recent Mayoral foreign trips include chairing a climate change conference in New York last year, during which he spoke alongside Bill Clinton, and a week-long visit to India. This cost £740,000, of which £50,000 related to flights and accommodation, including for pop star and TV presenter Myleene Klass.
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