Liz Truss refuses to pay bill ‘worth £12,000’ in row over country retreat

A spokesperson says the former PM is contesting the costs and has requested an ‘accurate invoice’ before agreeing to settle (Picture: PA/Getty)

Liz Truss is contesting the cost of items that went missing from a government residence shortly before she became Conservative leader last year.

The UK’s shortest-serving prime minister is reportedly refusing to pay more than £12,000 after a number of items, including bathrobes and slippers, went missing from the Chevening Estate last summer.

At the time, Ms Truss was still foreign secretary, but is said to have felt she had a sufficient lead over Rishi Sunak to begin making arrangements for her eventual victory. 

The government has reportedly told the former PM she is liable for the costs, and for food and wine she and her aides consumed at the property, as these reportedly fell outside of state-related purposes. 

A spokesperson for Ms Truss told The Mail on Sunday she is contesting the bill. 

She is understood to have asked for an ‘accurate invoice’ before agreeing to pay any fees. 

A source told the newspaper: ‘Liz used Chevening as a mini Number 10, holding meetings with her inner circle which often turned into parties in the evening. 

Truss is understood to be planning to run for re-election as MP, and her allies say she hopes to make a full comeback after her tenure as the UK’s shortest-serving prime minister (Picture: PA)

‘[The Cabinet Office] objected to the idea that the taxpayer should foot the bill for what were basically a series of summer parties, and say that she owes more than £12,000 for it.’

In December last year, the Guardian reported that traces of cocaine had been found at the property after the events in question, something Ms Truss has denied as ‘categorically untrue.’

The government residence of Chevening in Sevenoaks, Kent, has usually been placed at the disposal of the foreign secretary, which Truss was at the time the disputed costs were incurred (Picture: PA)

Responding to the recent costs handed to the former prime minister, Ms Truss’s spokesperson added: ‘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 Chase and senior officials from other departments who met at Chevening during the transition preparations. 

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‘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.’

Lasting just 45 days between September and October last year, Liz Truss is the shortest-serving prime minister in British history.

She has since blamed her limited time in office on ‘a concerted effort by international actors to challenge our plan for growth’, after the markedly negative response of markets to her tax-cutting economic plans. 

Ms Truss is understood to be planning to stand for re-election as MP for South West Norfolk, and to one day make a full political comeback.

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