British taxpayers fork out £100,000 for speaker John Bercow's travel bill

British taxpayers paid nearly £100,000 towards Commons speaker John Bercow’s travel bills for three years.

A Freedom of Information Act by The Times has revealed that Bercow took an official car to make a one-mile journey from the Parliamentary estate to – of all places – the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority – i.e. the expenses watchdog. The bill for the return trip was £84.31.

In September 2010, Bercow racked up his biggest bill of £11,252.81 when he and his two aides flew business class to Ottawa.

He also ran up a £16,000 bill for trips in a chauffeur-driven car, and £63,000 was spent on flights for himself and his assistants.

The fares add up to a grand total of £96,000 for visiting over 12 countries.

A House of Commons spokesperson told The Times, “The trips abroad are following invitations from other parliaments and to attend international parliamentary conferences. The vast majority of travel is economy class, except for long-haul flights and where other classes may be best value for money or match timing requirements.”