Liz Truss has been accused of spending sizeable sums of public money at the Norwich FC shop and on haircuts by Labour MP Emily Thornberry.
The Shadow Attorney General claims that when running the Foreign Office, Truss, a Norwich City fan, “spent more than £1,800 of public funds” on purchases at the club shop. Thornberry also questioned “£4,333.30 spent on two trips to the hairdresser,” in an open letter addressed to the Foreign Office department and published on Twitter.
According to the claims made by the Labour MP, there are several items and categories of spending that “seem unusual in the context of FCDO (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office).”
“Why has their spending via government procurement cards shot up 45 percent since last September? And why won't they answer these and dozens more related questions?” the Labour MP asked.
The allegation cites two payments made to the Norwich City club shop, £1,318 on 21 October and £523.50 on 21 March, when Truss was Foreign Secretary.
In response, an FCDO spokesperson was cited as saying:
“We are committed to using public money responsibly. Our staff follow set guidelines to ensure purchases are appropriate and achieve value for money to the taxpayer.” The FCDO said that departmental spending is “regularly published” on the government website, and that the department would formally respond to Thornberry's letter.
After the allegations were posted on Twitter, some users wondered how Liz Truss managed to get any work done while at the Foreign Office, besides shopping.