Ex-Speaker John Bercow ‘expensed £12,000 in leaving parties for staff before quitting’

JOHN Bercow went on a huge spending spree on the public dime months before he left his role as Speaker.

Mr Bercow threw extravagant farewell parties for his staff and took a £1,000 taxi from London to Nottingham and put all of it on his expenses bill.

Controversial former Speaker John Bercow spent thousands on taxis, parties and dinners in his last few months as speaker and charged it back to the public purse, according to FOI requests for the

He made the round trip to deliver a speech at Nottingham Trent University about Parliament's duty in an "anti-politics age".

A Commons spokeswoman said: 'Due to heightened security concerns for the safety of MPs, Mr Bercow was advised it was safer for him to travel to the University of Nottingham by taxi, rather than by train.'

The speech was only one part of his mammoth expenses bill - he also went on a £7,000 trip to the US in May.

There, he gave a speech insisting MPs could still block No Deal Brexit.

Mr Bercow took some lucky presiding officers from Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland out for a £1,400 dinner.

He also spent a massive £12,000 on farewell parties for four senior Commons staff who had worked with him.

His travel to the Edinburgh festival, where he appeared at an offbeat event, also got added to the public bill.

Mr Bercow, who left Parliament in October has since raked in tens of thousands of pounds in television and public appearances.

The former Speaker was accused by Brexiteers of pandering to Remainers while he was in office and in charge of the House of Commons.

A Commons spokeswoman said: "In line with long established practice, the Speaker's Office funds the drinks and the pre-dinner reception for the Panel of Chairs dinner."

Former Speaker Chaplain Rose Hudson-Wilkin was given a £3,168 "retirement" party, ven though she went on to be appointed as Bishop of Dover.

He also handed out thousands of pounds for parties for the Commons "Invitations Secretary", Clerk of the House David Natzler and Principal Clerk of the Table Office lavish send-offs.

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.

Since new Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle took over Mr Bercow has had a jam-packed diary full of lucrative speaking arrangement.

He was paid £60,000 for one night's work for Sky News over election night.

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