Politics

Taxpayers foot £3,700 bill for ex-Speaker John Bercow’s retirement party with 150 guests


CONTROVERSIAL Former Speaker John Bercow had a lavish £3,7000 retirement party all at the taxpayers expense.

The luxurious reception for 150 MPs took place shortly before Mr Bercow actually stood down at Speaker.

 Former Speaker John Bercow had a £3,700 retirement party all out of the public purse

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Former Speaker John Bercow had a £3,700 retirement party all out of the public purseCredit: Reuters

The total cost of the party came to £3,696 for hosting MPs at Speaker’s House after Mr Bercow’s controversial decade in the Speaker’s chair, according to FOI requests from MailOnline.

The bill also covered “cleaning and removal” costs.

Officials said they could not give out any other figures about the party because it could not be separated from other expenses.

A spokeswoman for the Speaker’s Office said: “It is usual practice for the House to mark the retirement of senior officials”.

“In the case of the Speaker, a reception was hosted for him by the Clerk of the House on 23 October. It was attended by 150 Members and House staff in Speaker’s House.”

Mr Bercow’s expensive taste for his own retirement party is the latest in a string of scandals surrounding him since he left the chair.

He spent a total of £12,000 of taxpayers money on retirement parties for other colleagues.

He also charged other extravagances to the public purse including a £1000 tax ride from London to Nottingham.

His close friends and allies in Parliament got their own retirement parties at around £3000 or more for each.

Mr Bercow is the first speaker in 230 years not to be given an automatic peerage upon resignation, a snub Brexiteers blamed on his divisive tactics to block Brexit in Parliament.

The former Speaker has faced fresh allegations of bullying in the last few weeks, after the former most senior official in Parliament released a dossier of claims against him.

The former Speaker has been embroiled in expenses scandals before, spending hundreds of thousands on travel, and even a £490 washing machine for his nanny’s flat.

Bercow’s expenses

£3696 on his own retirement party

£1000 taxi ride from London to Nottingham

£7,000 trip to the US

£1,4000 dinner for presiding officers from Wales, Scotland and Ireland

£12,000 on retirement parties for colleagues

(INCLUDING £3,700 for the Principal Clerk of the Table Office, and £3,168 for Speaker’s Chaplain Rose Hudson-Wilin)

 Mr Bercow spared no extravagance on his staff's farewell parties

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Mr Bercow spared no extravagance on his staff’s farewell parties

 





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