£1.4m five-star trips for globetrotting MPs

BACKBENCH MPs racked up almost £1.4 million of free trips last year with a further £1million of excursions already booked this year.

An Evening Standard investigation has found that the taxpayer is funding dozens of overseas "fact-finding" missions with many committee members staying in five-star hotels, flying first class and receiving a daily cash allowance to spend on "extras".

The news comes as the Committee on Standards in Public Life began its probe into MPs' expenses following a series of revelations that ministers have been spending lavish amounts on their second homes while living in taxpayer-funded flats.

Between April 2007 and April 2008, globetrotting MPs - many members of committees concerned with domestic policy - visited California, Washington and New York, Canada, Beijing, Bali, Bermuda and the Grand Cayman Islands. Documents prepared by select committee members have also revealed they have already booked excursions for this year and next, with 70 per cent of their allocated budget spent.

Trips include:

A £49,332 excursion to Ecuador and Peru to look at the cocaine trade for the home affairs delegation.

A visit to South Africa for the justice team looking at the role of the prison officer abroad for £48,051.

A £55,712 trip to Washington DC to look at social worker training by the children, schools and families team.

A £57,861 visit to New York by culture, media and sport to look at press standards and privacy laws.

A tour of Chicago, Washington and New York by the Treasury who want to examine the banking crisis first hand at a cost to the taxpayer of £59,043.

Flights and hotel bills will be covered in advance for those involved. An allowance will also be given to each MP to spend on meals and travel, based on a rate issued by the Foreign Office. MPs do not need to provide receipts for the money spent or return unspent allowances.

Matthew Elliott, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said the amount of money spent on overseas visits was "excessive" and likely to fuel the public outrage surrounding MPs' expense accounts.

It has been revealed that Alistair Darling claimed second-home payments on his Edinburgh constituency property and rented out his "main" home in London while living in government accommodation.

Geoff Hoon admitted he used a similar arrangement as defence secretary and Jacqui Smith was "mortified" to discover her expenses claims included payments for two adult movies watched by her husband, who earns £40,000 a year running her constituency office.

Mr Elliott said it was vital that MPs were seen to be cutting back on perks. "Every single parliamentary trip should be carefully scrutinised to see if it is really worthwhile," he said.

"Some trips may be justified, but too often it seems that they are a frivolous excuse to visit exotic locations. With a recession hitting everyone hard, MPs should cut back on the number and lavishness of these costly excursions.

"If they do need to go, then dropping from five-star to four-star hotels would be a sizeable saving without them suffering any great indignity."

Overall, select committee members spent £1,386,987 on oversees trips during the last session.

They included a visit by culture, media and sport to Tampa Bay, California, for an inquiry into violent video games and the internet at a cost of £45,123, and a £41,824 visit by the children, schools and families panel to Canada to look at its national curriculum and teacher training resources.

A Commons spokesperson said: "Select Committees provide cross-party, backbench scrutiny of Government policy. They conduct public inquiries
into a wide range of subject areas, which result in over 700 evidence sessions and nearly 400 reports in a typical year. Research trips are an
instrinic part of this, both within the UK and to other countries."