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Miliband keeps his grace and favour property
Paul Waugh, Deputy Political Editor09.04.09
DAVID MILIBAND has decided to retain his grace-and-favour residence despite huge pressure on the Foreign Office budget, it emerged today.
The sumptuous 18th-century building in Carlton Gardens, St James's, was due to be sold because the Foreign Secretary lives in his north London family home and only uses the property to host foreign dignitaries.
But the FO has decided not to sell the property, designed by John Nash and once inhabited by Napoleon II, because the short-term financial gain is outweighed by the loss of prestigious venue for official functions.
The FO came close last year to giving up the property but will now retain it at a cost of £100,000 a year.
The building, situated between Trafalgar Square and Buckingham Palace, has 14 bedrooms and five entertaining rooms spread over three floors.
The FO has already been stretched by the rising cost of running embassies and paying dues to international organisations. If the pound remains low this financial year, the core FO budget of about £1.1billion will have to absorb £150million of added costs.
Reader views (6)
Turn it into weekday accommodation for the MPs to stop some of this second homes racket.
- Janet, London, UK
Was there ever any doubt that an MP would ever do anything that was even vaguely ethical. The P stands for parasite.
- Lezli Taubler, London / UK
The article states Miliband keeps "his" grace and favour property. CORRECTION. The property belongs to us - the tax payers who paid for it and continue to pay for the upkeep of it.
- R.F., Yorks, UK
A three storey townhouse in the centre of London - secure and suitable for official visits - costs £100,000.
Seems cheap to me. If you want to run a conference on a Thursday in Telford it'll cost you several thousand pounds.
And this is less than 0.01% of the FO budget.
And for some reason, because the Foreign Office have decided not to sell their conference venue, this has something to do with where David Miliband lives?
- Andy, London
This must be the right decision. Britain deserves a prestigious Home Office building for a prestigious department, which has sadly been sadly degraded by the political pygmies who have recently held this once great office of State. We live in hope that soon, once again, will a politican worthy of the honour, hold this position. Britains foreign office SHOULD be grand and impressive, not downgraded to something more suitable for a banana republic!
- Carver, newark,
Make the so and so pay market price rent for it then why should he and all these other shameless MPs and Bankers keep pensions and have everything paid for when they cannot even do the jobs they were employed for.
- Mike, London England
