Kemi Badenoch ‘tried to use taxpayers’ money to fund holiday flight’

Kemi Badenoch asked officials to pay for a flight to go on holiday to the US using taxpayers’ money, sources have claimed.

Department for Business and Trade (DBT) sources told The Guardian the request was rejected by the top civil servant at the time.

Officials reportedly ended up booking her travel to Texas for a family holiday in February 2023 but the then Cabinet minister paid for the trip herself.

Mrs Badenoch, who is standing to be the next leader of the Tory party, had travelled to Mexico on a taxpayer funded business class flight for an official visit to discuss the UK’s bid to join the CPTPP Indo-Pacific trade bloc, as well as wider discussions about bilateral trade with the nation.

Before travelling, sources claimed she asked Gareth Davies, the permanent secretary in DBT, if the department could cover the cost of a flight to Dallas, where she had planned to go on holiday with her family. The request was said to be made because the overall cost was lower than a business class return from Mexico.

The department refused her request as a result of concerns the detour would be hard to explain, given it was not for official business.

Sources close to the former business secretary said Mrs Badenoch was due to fly from Mexico to Texas on official government business to meet Governor Greg Abbott and discuss a state-level trade agreement but when the proposed meeting couldn’t take place as a result of diary clashes she paid for the flights herself, in accordance with the rules.

But evidence seen by the Guardian is said to suggest the former minister asked the department to fund the flight, despite there being no official business taking place in Texas.

Sources in DBT also told the newspaper that a request to book and pay for flights was in keeping with the way she generally engaged with civil servants.

She allegedly admitted in meetings to having asked political advisers, funded by the taxpayer, to go to her London home to pack her suitcases for work trips.

One source told the Guardian: “The stuff she asked them to do was well out of their remit. I’m amazed they put up with it but I’m not sure they felt they had much choice. Kemi treated them like a PA. It felt like such an abuse of taxpayer funded time.”

On Tuesday, the former business secretary denied accusations that she bullied civil service staff .

The now shadow communities secretary is alleged to have created an intimidating atmosphere at DBT, a report from The Guardian claimed.

Posting on social media, Mrs Badenoch said: “Let’s be clear: these allegations are smears from former staff who I sacked after they were accused of bullying behaviour, lying about other colleagues to cover up their own failures and general gross incompetence.

“Intolerable behaviour I would not stand for.”

Tory grandee Lord Peter Mandelson suggested Mrs Badenoch is the Conservative leadership contender Sir Keir Starmer would fear the most.

Writing in The Spectator , he said her willingness to “call out the sort of ‘wokery’ many voters dislike” would set her apart from the other candidates.

A spokesperson for Kemi Badenoch said: “Yesterday the Business Department said there were no complaints or investigations into Kemi. Given that today they’ve confirmed that the proper process was followed on the ministerial code, we look forward to having to deny tomorrow that Kemi faked the moon landings.”

A DBT spokesperson said: “The department takes both the ministerial code, and civil service code, seriously and ensure they are followed at all times. We cannot comment on specific claims from unnamed sources. There was no breach of the ministerial code by the previous secretary of state.”