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Vip Airport Travel Amongst £14m Of Taxpayers’ Cash Spent By Scottish Civil Servants

A additional £1,271.21 was spent on the Amsterdam Schiphol VIP service during a visit to Brussels in 2020, in addition to practically £1000 on the identical service during a trip to Germany in 2019. See right now’s front and back pages, download the newspaper, order back issues and use the historic Daily Express newspaper archive. The purchases by the federal government are separate from the SNP’s spending, which is the topic of the Police Scotland investigation. Officials purchased six copies of Women Hold Up Half the Sky, a collection of Ms Sturgeon’s speeches which has previously caused controversy as a end result of hyperlinks between the writer and the SNP authorities.

Purchases by senior staff also included yoga lessons, nail polish and £4,182 for hospitality and resort lodging at the five-star Gleneagles Hotel in Perthshire in September 2019 for a Scottish Women and Girls in Sport occasion. A complete of £9,898 was spent on the previous first minister’s airport services, both within the UK and throughout Europe, between September 2019 and June last yr. Senior authorities staff are issued with credit-style cards to purchase items and companies with a worth of £5,000 per transaction. Responding to the 58,000 bank card purchases by civil servants, a Scottish Government spokesman mentioned the administration was “committed to delivering one of the best worth for cash for taxpayers”. “The SNP is frittering away public cash on frivolous purchases and VIP remedy while providers are stretched to breaking point. During the solo tour, the then-Prince of Wales visited tea and coffee vegetation, famously spitting out a sample of tea remarking it was “very bitter”, and toured a housing property in addition to meeting the then-President Daniel Arap Moi.

William and Kate meanwhile are anticipated to deliver a public message in honour of the life and legacy of the late monarch, who passed away on September eight final year after serving a report breaking 70 years on the throne. With over 90 motels collaborating, this deal offers discounts of as much as 55% off on lodging in Cancun, Puerto Rico, and Punta Cana. The promotion contains limited-value add services on particular rate plans, adding a contact of luxurious to your trip experience.

Biden Says He Plans To Travel To Vietnam ‘shortly’

The prices had been among greater than £14 million of spending by Scottish civil servants on credit cards, which additionally included nail polish, yoga classes and a driving theory check for a workers member. Civil servants additionally purchased a number of copies of a guide assortment of Ms Sturgeon’s speeches with public funds. The Department of Defense is making waves in the world of leisure travel with American Forces Travel, an internet platform managed by Morale, Welfare, and Recreation and supported by Priceline. As summer unfurls its heat embrace, American Forces Travel presents thrilling choices for household getaways. For a restricted time, the platform is providing additional value-added services and products for select vacation packages.

Biden Says He Will Travel To Vietnam

Speaking on the Edinburgh Fringe on Tuesday, Humza Yousaf, Ms Sturgeon’s successor, stated it was “fair to ask questions” about the revelations. He said he would ask John-Paul Marks, his prime civil servant, to review whether or not the “right procedures” over spending had been in place. Previous to that, he additionally visited the country 9 years earlier in 1978 for President Jomo Kenyatta’s funeral, the yr prior for a safari and in 1971 alongside Princess Anne. Since turning into King, Charles has so far visited Germany in March for a state banquet, in addition to a solo trip to Romania in June. CNN has requested the White House for details on Biden’s remarks previewing travel to Vietnam. Biden’s off-camera remarks in Albuquerque, New Mexico, come as his administration is looking for to counter China’s influence in the Indo-Pacific area.

Extra On Nicola Sturgeon

“I’ve gotten a call from the top of Vietnam, desperately wants to satisfy me after I go to the G20,” Biden stated at the July event, based on a White House transcript. “He desires to elevate us to a serious associate, along with Russia and China. What do you think that’s about? No, I’m not joking.” “The SNP should end the monetary mismanagement that has plagued their government and start delivering for Scotland.” A number of books had been Travel & Leasuire News additionally purchased, including six copies of a book of speeches by Ms Sturgeon and 21 copies of How To Run A Government So That Citizens Benefit And Taxpayers Don’t Go Crazy. But the procurement cards additionally purchased a employees member’s driving principle take a look at, China crockery for a meeting room, a £27 “home disco” from eBay and £272 on “Wellington boots for inspections”. Jane has been posting pictures from her newest adventure on her Instagram, and her most up-to-date image noticed her posing by a seashore.

“The playing cards are not for private expenditure and there are sturdy authorisation and common auditing arrangements are in place to monitor their use. The Scottish Government spent £1,271 on the VIP service for a visit to Brussels in February 2020 but previously claimed whole travel and subsistence prices of the journey were simply £1,033.fifty one. Charles has decided against publicly acknowledging his mother’s passing, as an alternative choosing to mark the date privately at Balmoral in Scotland the place she died aged 96. Palace officers mentioned Charles would choose to spend the anniversary “quietly and privately”, including ”just as the late Queen did to mark her personal father’s passing”. The King is making ready for his first major Commonwealth go to as monarch later this autumn as he is anticipated to privately mark the anniversary of the Queen’s dying. President Joe Biden on Tuesday mentioned that he plans to quickly go to Vietnam in an effort “to change our relationship,” with the Southeast Asian nation.

The Scottish Government proactively publishes ministers’ travel costs however seems to have saved the worth of Ms Sturgeon’s luxury airport treatment hidden. Palace aides stated that whereas Charles, 74, will little doubt participate within the “traditional elements” of the royals’ summer time holidays, similar to these presided by his mom, he would even be hosting his personal get-togethers. The King and Queen will also, as is tradition for the monarch to welcome serving Prime Ministers, welcome Rishi Sunak and his household to remain. He may also visit France in the coming weeks in his rescheduled State journey to fulfill Emmanuel Macron, after the primary was cancelled in March as a result of riots over the President’s unpopular retirement policy. In March, Biden spoke by telephone with General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, the highest leader of Vietnam.