House of Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle spent nearly £5,500 of taxpayers' money on private planes during a tour of the Caribbean, according to reports. The funds were used to charter three aircraft to travel between the islands of St Maarten, Montserrat, Anguilla and Antigua.
The expenditure was part of a larger £100,000 outlay to sponsor the Conference of Speakers of the UK House of Commons and Overseas Territories. However, the cost of the private planes was not listed in the Speaker's official travel expenses log. The Speaker's Office explained that some costs were allocated to the Clerk of the House, while others were included in the overall conference budget.
Sir Lindsay opted for business or first class seats on all flights, including short-haul trips to Ireland and Italy. Over the past two years, more than £275,000 has been spent on foreign travel for the Speaker. This includes a five-day trip to the Cayman Islands costing over £22,000, with accommodation at the luxury Westin Grand on Seven Mile Beach at £679 per night, and a visit to Ottawa in 2023 where hotel costs reached £900 per night.
The Speaker is responsible for representing the House of Commons at high-profile events and inter-parliamentary conferences. According to the Daily Mail, Sir Lindsay is the most well-travelled Commons Speaker in history, surpassing his predecessor John Bercow who took ten years to spend a similar amount on non-regular foreign travel.
