Fury as Sturgeon payments taxpayer for luxurious flight and lodge on ‘farewell tour’

Nicola Sturgeon has been slammed for expensing a gratuitous farewell tour after she introduced her intention to resign as First Minister of Scotland.

Following her shock announcement, which got here simply weeks earlier than it emerged the Scottish police fraud squad was investigating the SNP, Ms Sturgeon launched into a goodbye tour of TV studios, together with Loose Women.

It has now emerged Ms Sturgeon billed the taxpayer each for a enterprise class flight and a lodge room costing greater than £500 per night time.

The luxurious journey was booked regardless of guidelines saying ministers should make “cost-effective travel arrangements” and should be “consistent with ministers’ commitment to reduce emissions”.

That similar night time, one in every of Ms Sturgeon’s ministers additionally paid a go to to London however managed to search out lodging for lower than a fifth the worth of his boss’s £515 room.

Scottish Tory MSP Annie Wells stated taxpayers will discover the revelations “utterly galling”.

She stated: “The former First Minister should have set an example and kept costs of her trip – which included another visit to appear on Loose Women – to a minimum.

“The fact that she also thought it appropriate to take a short and costly business class flight to London also flies in the face of her repeatedly asking the Scottish public to do their bit to tackle the climate emergency while in high office.”

The Taxpayers’ Alliance’s Jonathan Eida stated: “Brits who are having to scrimp and save will not look kindly this flight of fancy”.

While her journey to London solely lasted a day, she managed to squeeze in each an look on Loose Women and a speech to the Royal Society of Arts.

She used the journey to spin her achievements in Government, in addition to reiterate that she’d solely stepped down as a result of she realised she had served as First Minister for “too long”.

The similar day Ms Sturgeon travelled to London, Scottish Police requested a warrant to raid Ms Sturgeon’s Glasgow dwelling, which they finally did on April 5.

The Scottish Government refused to say which lodge Ms Sturgeon stayed at.

A spokesperson for Ms Sturgeon refused to remark when approached by the Telegraph.