The House of Lords is at the centre of a fresh expenses row after its speaker racked up big bills for chauffeur-driven cars to wait for her while she was at the opera and having lunch in central London.

Lady D’Souza, a crossbench peer who is in charge of keeping order in the Lords, kept a chauffeur waiting for four hours at a cost of £230 while she watched a performance of Benjamin Britten’s Gloriana with the chairman of the Federation Council of Russia. The journey was just a mile from the Houses of Parliament.

She also spent £270 holding a car for four and a half hours while she had lunch with the Japanese ambassador in central London, and £738 keeping a luxury Mercedes parked for up to 10 hours during an event at Windsor Castle [see foonote].

Using a Mercedes to get from Westminster to Canterbury for the enthronement of Justin Welby, archbishop of Canterbury, in March 2013 cost £627 – with her Commons counterpart, John Bercow, making exactly the same journey in a separate car for £525.

The Lord Speaker has also spent tens of thousands of pounds on travel, flying business class, staying in hotels costing up to £300 a night, and ordering £123 of room service for a “breakfast meeting”.

Details of the expenses incurred by the peer – a former university lecturer who earns a salary of more than £100,000 for a largely ceremonial role and does not require an official car for security purposes – have been released following a Freedom of Information (FoI) request by the Press Association.

The information on speakers’ expenses was released in the wake of a landmark court of appeal ruling on the scope of FoI, which established the principle that expenses receipts contain more information than itemised lists of spending.

A Lords spokesman insisted the house would have disclosed the material regardless of the case.

“The court of appeal ruling regarding Ipsa did not change the House of Lords FOI release policy as we have always provided copies of documents related to expenses including receipts when requested under FOI,” the spokesman said.

Tim Farron, the leader of the Lib Dems, said the disclosure showed “the good work of our peers has been overshadowed by members of the Lords who show disregard for their status and responsibility as public servants”.

Earlier this year a similar disclosure for Bercow, the Commons Speaker, revealed a £172 bill for attending a conference less than a mile from parliament.



The details of Tuesday’s FoI disclosure include revelations that:

D’Souza used a chauffeur-driven Mercedes E-class supplied by Little’s to get to the Royal Opera House – just a mile from parliament – on the evening of 20 June 2013.

She watched Benjamin Britten’s Gloriana with the chairman of the Federation Council of Russia, and was brought back to the Lords four hours later at a cost of £230.40.

On 17 September last year the Lord Speaker went to lunch with the Japanese ambassador at his residence in Kensington Gardens, three miles from parliament. The car and driver were ordered to wait outside, charging £269.75 for four and a half hours. A return taxi fare would have been around £30, and taking the tube from Westminster to Notting Hill Gate less than £5.

On 18 October 2012, Lady D’Souza attended a memorial service for Lady Ritchie of Brompton at Chelsea Old Church, SW3, around 2.5 miles from the House of Lords. The Mercedes E-class was on call for three hours at a cost of £172.80.

A Mercedes S-class was ordered from the WestOne firm in June 2012 to take D’Souza and Black Rod, David Leakey, to a Garter ceremony at Windsor Castle. It was told to park and wait before returning, billing £738 for 10 hours.

A 10-day official trip to Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan in the autumn of last year left a bill of nearly £26,000. Accompanied by three officials, D’Souza flew BA business class to Tokyo and back from Hong Kong at a cost of £3,281. Her “executive deluxe” room at the five-star Le Méridien Taipei on 5 October was £248.

The following morning there was a £123 tab for “in-room dining” for the party and two local British officials – including fresh orange juice, fresh grapefruit juice, watermelon juice, coffee and “fruits”. A Lords spokesman said the group was holding a breakfast meeting to discuss the “priorities for the visit”.

That night, D’Souza was in a king executive harbour view room at the Conrad hotel in Hong Kong, costing £293.

A House of Lords spokesman said: “The Lord Speaker usually drives herself to events she attends as a representative of the House of Lords.

“However, at events she has attended at high-profile venues including those that you have highlighted, the security requirements of the hosts often require that she is brought in a car which must also wait for her departure.

“The hosts often do not permit a separate car to be sent to collect guests, for security reasons. The Lord Speaker’s office always explores the possibility of booking separate cars in order to ensure best value for money.

“Part of the Lord Speaker’s role is to represent the house at international conferences and foreign parliaments. Significant efforts are made to ensure travel is booked in the most cost-effective way possible.

“As part of international visits modest gifts are sometimes exchanged. Gifts given by the Lord Speaker are almost always sourced from the House of Lords gift shop.”

• This article was amended on 30 December 2015 to include a statement from the House of Lords about its FoI release policy. The following footnote was added on 3 February 2016. The expense of £738 was released in error by the Lord Speaker’s office following the Press Association’s Freedom of Information request. The charge was not incurred by the Lord Speaker.