Truss kept gift of hat but turned down jewellery from Ukraine’s first lady
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Liz Truss kept the gift of a fancy hat she was given during her brief tenure in No 10 but failed to find time to do any entertaining at Chequers, according to government transparency data.
The former prime minister chose to purchase the hat donated by Amanda Denton Millinery in line with rules for ministers for gifts worth £140 or more received in their official capacity.
The company, based in Hungerford, Berkshire, specialises in “occasion ladies hats” – described as “perfect” for Cheltenham or Royal Ascot – according to its website.
But Ms Truss decided not to purchase jewellery she was given by the first lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska, which was retained by the department.
The data also showed that her final abortive trip as foreign secretary to a meeting of G20 foreign ministers in Bali, Indonesia, in July cost the taxpayer £369,000 for flights alone.
Mr Truss, who was accompanied by a team of 13 officials, turned around and headed home from the holiday island almost immediately after the news came through that Boris Johnson was resigning.
But once ensconced as his successor, she did not manage to undertake any taxpayer-funded entertaining at Chequers – the prime minister’s official country residence – according to her declaration.
Among the meetings that she did find time for was one with Robert Thomson, chief executive of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, to “discuss the priorities of the new government”.
In contrast, Mr Johnson managed to pack in a series of meetings with senior media figures in his final days in No 10.
These included a “social meeting” with Mr Murdoch – whose media empire includes The Sun and The Times – just days before Mr Johnson was forced to quit amid a welter of resignations by government ministers.
There were subsequently meetings with Mr Thomson and News UK chief executive Rebekah Brooks, the Telegraph Group chairman Aidan Barclay, The Daily Telegraph editor Chris Evans and the Daily Mail editor Ted Verity.
