According to sources, Kemi Badenoch has asked the government to use taxpayers’ money to pay for a flight to the USA for a holiday.
Sources in the Ministry of Economy and Trade (DBT) said The guard The request was rejected by the then highest official.
Officials reportedly eventually booked a family vacation for her to Texas in February 2023, but the then-Cabinet minister paid for the trip herself.
Ms Badenoch, who is running to be the next Tory party leader, had travelled to Mexico on a taxpayer-funded business class flight for an official visit to discuss Britain’s bid to join the Indo-Pacific trade bloc CPTPP and wider discussions on bilateral trade with the country.
According to sources, before her trip she asked Gareth Davies, the permanent secretary in the DBT, if the department could cover the cost of a flight to Dallas, where she planned to holiday with her family. The request was reportedly made because the total cost was less than a round-trip business class flight from Mexico.
The department rejected her request because they feared that the detour would be difficult to explain since it was not on official business.
Sources close to the former business minister said Ms Badenoch was due to fly from Mexico to Texas on official government business to meet Governor Greg Abbott and discuss a state-level trade deal. But when the planned meeting could not go ahead due to scheduling conflicts, she paid for the flights herself, in accordance with regulations.
But evidence seen by the Guardian suggests that the former minister asked the ministry to fund the flight, even though no official flight took place in Texas.
Sources within the DBT also told the newspaper that the request to book and pay for flights was in line with their usual dealings with officials.
She reportedly admitted at meetings that she had asked taxpayer-funded political advisers to come to her home in London to pack her bags for business trips.
A source told the Guardian: “The things she asked them to do were way outside their remit. I’m amazed they put up with it, but I’m not sure they felt they had any other choice. Kemi treated her like a personal assistant. It seemed like a waste of taxpayer-funded time.”
On Tuesday, the former economics minister denied allegations that she had harassed officials.
The current Shadow Minister for Communities is accused of creating an intimidating atmosphere at DBT, according to a report by The guard claimed.
In a social media post, Ms Badenoch said: “To be clear, these allegations are slanders made by former employees I dismissed after they were accused of bullying, lying about other colleagues to cover up their own mistakes, and general blatant incompetence.”
“Intolerable behavior that I would not tolerate.”
Labour grandee Lord Peter Mandelson said Ms Badenoch was the Conservative candidate for party leadership that Sir Keir Starmer would fear most.
Writing in The audienceHe said her willingness to denounce “the kind of ‘wokery’ that many voters don’t like” would set her apart from the other candidates.
A spokesman for Kemi Badenoch said: “Yesterday the Department of Economic Affairs said there were no complaints or investigations against Kemi. As they have today confirmed that due process under the Ministerial Code was followed, 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 the Civil Service Code seriously and ensures that they are adhered to at all times. We cannot comment on specific allegations made by unnamed sources. The former Permanent Secretary did not breach the Ministerial Code.”
