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First-class travel and fine dining: council chief's trips to NY on expenses
Katharine Barney, City Hall Reporter22.06.09
A senior London councillor made two lavish trips to New York at local taxpayers' expense, it emerged today.
Merrick Cockell, Conservative leader of Kensington and Chelsea, flew first class, ate at one of the most prestigious restaurants in the city and stayed in a five-star hotel.
He was also entertained in London by a series of property developers, including being lunched at the Ritz.
One of the New York trips was paid for by Kensington and Chelsea and the other by London Councils, which represents the capital's 33 local authorities. Mr Cockell is its chairman.
The disclosure comes after Mayor Boris Johnson's deputy, Ian Clement, had his corporate credit card confiscated for using it to pay for supermarket shopping and upgrades to business-class flights.
Mr Cockell made two trips to New York. During the first, in January 2007, he dined at The Four Seasons, one of the city's most famous restaurants. It has hosted John F Kennedy and wife Jackie, American Vogue editor Anna Wintour and Henry Kissinger. New York magazine describes it as where "members of the town's power menagerie gather".
The dinner cost $185 (£98.68 at the exchange rate at the time). Mr Cockell did not declare who he ate with.
He was in New York for a conference called Governing A Diverse City In A Democratic Society, and to study how the city manages a single public services telephone number. Mr Johnson has since dropped plans for a similar scheme. The conference lasted three days, but Mr Cockell stayed an extra two nights at the Sofitel hotel, which charged $359.25 a night. The total bill for the four-star hotel, including laundry charges, room service and a $7.75 beer from the minibar, came to $2,072 - equivalent to £1,151 at the time.
The upper class flight on Virgin Atlantic cost £2,109.70 return. Limousine hire from the hotel to JFK airport was $124. The journey by subway would have cost less than £1. The first trip was on behalf of London Councils, but Kensington and Chelsea picked up the tab.
The visit was repeated in January this year, but this time paid for by London Councils and organised by City Hall. On this occasion, Mr Cockell stayed three nights at the five-star Bryant Park Hotel, at a cost of £1,636.56. Its rooms have Tibetan rugs and marble baths, and beds are covered with cashmere throws.
Mr Clement was at the same conference. On the first night, Mr Cockell treated him to dinner at Keens Steakhouse, where the two men dined on steaks at $45 each, crabcakes, pints of beer and a gin martini. The next night Mr Clement repaid the favour using his City Hall credit card, including Mr Cockell in a £700 dinner for one of New York mayor Michael Bloomberg's deputies.
Mr Cockell has also accepted hospitality from developers who own land in Kensington and Chelsea. These included Christian Candy, one of the Candy brothers who at the time were developing the Kensington Park Hotel but later sold it for a £250million profit. He also accepted hospitality from Stuart Corbyn of Cadogan Estates, and lunch at the Ritz with its owner, Sir Frederick Barclay.
Mr Cockell said: "I found the [2007] conference extremely useful in my work as chairman of London Councils and as leader of K&C. The [2009] visit concentrated on the response to the recession, unemployment and in particular the 311 single public service number."
Mr Cockell said his expenses had been £800 a year in the past three years, and it was November when he last claimed for a meal entertaining on behalf of Kensington and Chelsea.
London Councils said Mr Cockell was its sole representative and had to "provide hospitality for others".
Reader views (12)
hello frds ... this is a good blog .. u can avail information abt flight & get discount on flights ..
- Shawn Michael, India
Will Sewell
You completely miss the point. Mr Cockell-not Cockerell(that is a rather useless bird) travelled, lodged and dined himself at great expense to the poor London taxpayer.
Members should not be staying in 5 star hotels and using limos and sampling $110 bottles of wine.
If you cannot understand that you must be simple
- Justin Downes Residents First, London
Please check your facts: Virgin Upper Class is only business class - NOT first class and this is a DISCOUNTED business class fare. There is a massive difference: an open business class fare is about £5000 and an open first class fare (not even available on Virgin) is around £8000 return. A flexible economy fare is about £1200 so Cockerell did quite well to get a discounted Upper Class seat for only £2109. So you made fun of a senior executive booking a discounted seat giving him (limited) flexibility if his plans change and a chance at sleeping on the flight and being able to work immediately the next morning... this is hardly a crime. Given that BA sells over 400 and Virgin sells over 200 business class seats a DAY London-New York Cockerell is hardly exceptional. Please can you report a bit more responsibly in future?
- Will Sewell, United Kingdom
Another thing I don't understand. Why were the ratepayers of Kensington and Chelsea paying for Councillor Cockell to go to New York in some style to represent London Councils? What was the benefit to Kensington and Chelsea? Why did he stay on for two very expensive nights once the Conference was over? If I asked my boss to pay my expenses for something that had nothing to do with our company and to add two days to the trip, I know what he would say!
- Puzzled, London
Ever since the press started to take an interest in the allowances and expenses of Cllr Cockell (including his £700 dinner in New York with the disgraced and odius Ian Clement from the GLA, all at taxpayers expense)I have started to submit FOI enquiries of my own.
For a number of weeks I have been reporting that Cllr Cockell is paid £11,000 to be Chairman of London Councils (in addition to his £66,000 as Leader of Kensington & Chelsea). This was told to me by the Press Office at London Councils. I now discover from FOI data that Cllr Cockell is in fact paid £21k by London Councils. Mis speak is a dangerous game for quangos to play.
I also see that Cllr Shireen Ritchie (the nice and well connected lady from Central Office) who is also Cabinet Member for Childrens Services at K&C ( £50k) has been given the Deputy Chairmanship of the Children Forum (£5k) at London Councils. A nice little peerage hook here.
This year already Cllr Cockell has claimed £2,715 expenses from London Councils (the only Board member out of 11 to claim expenses so far). I am at a loss to understand why the tax payers of London Boroughs are paying £7 million every year to support this quango.
- Donald Cameron, Kensington & Chelsea
Virgin Atlantic don't have a first class they just have a business class that they call upper class.
As I don't live in K&C anymore what they do with their money is for their taxpayers to decide, maybe someone will oust him at the next election if they are really pissed off.
- James, London
Could someone help me? The Central Government regulations do not permit local councils or London Councils to repay entertainment expenses to local councillors. How were these expenses reimbursed?
- Puzzled, London, England
Mark, London. One assumes you work in local government because only a cossetted elected member would attempt to justify such extravagance.
The taxpayers of London will be horrified by this dissolute
spending at a time of frightening economic uncertainty.
This is what happens when you have, as K and C does, £207 millions of our money in reserves. Give it back to us before you waste any more !
I have twice written to Caroline Spelman on the subject of
this man's expenses but she does not respond. Cockell already takes from us over £100k a year so he can easily afford the fare and the plush hotels
- Justin Downes Residents First, London SW1
Mark: Business class is 4-5 times the cost of an economy ticket so in most peoples book it would be considered first class. All these MP's have been milking the system for years and it is time we overhaul our ENTIRE system.
- Dirk Diggler, Soho, London
And what did he really learn that couldn't have been learned from available free info. sheets, or a couple of telephone calls? -Just glad he wasn't spending any of my money!
- Huggy, Cumbernauld Scotland
Well $45 for a steak dinner doesn't seem outrageous and the airfare is not that expensive either, as this was Virgin business class & not 1st class as per the headline, and almost any company's expense policy would allow that for a transatlantic flight. The question really is was the trip worthwhile? That is the thing that should be monitored.
- Mark, London
You have a duty to remind us when this buffoon is up for reappointment so we can write to express our delight at the excellent use he made of our hard earned money - and vote accordingly. Just what planet do these politicians and bureaucrats live on? Clearly not the same earth inhabited by the hardworking wage slaves who are funding this lifestyle and, need we mention, the usual gold-plated pension that rewards such an excellent attitude to managing public finances.
- Helene Davidson, London
