Last night’s BBC documentary Meet the Lords saw Baroness D’Souza attend the unveiling of a portrait of herself costing a cool £12,000. Asked whether this was taxpayers’ money well spent, D’Souza said the media were correct to hold her to account but suggested they had not reported her spending accurately. For the sake of “accuracy“, here is the full litany of how D’Souza has spent your money:

• £12,000 on a portrait of herself which the Baroness described as “a really good painting”
• £4,000 on flowers
• £1,100 on a trip to the ballet
• £26,000 on a ten day trip to the Far East
• £738 to keep her car waiting outside Windsor Castle
• £270 to keep her car waiting during lunch with the Japanese Ambassador
• £230 to keep her car waiting during a trip to the opera

“One would require them to be accurate”…

Interesting timing for the new BBC documentary on the House of Lords. The choice quote is from Baroness D’Souza:

“There is a core of peers who work incredibly hard, who do that work, and there are, sad to say, many, many, many peers who contribute absolutely nothing but who claim the full allowance. I can remember one occasion when I was leaving the House quite late and there was a peer – who shall be utterly nameless – who jumped out of a taxi just outside the peers’ entrance, left the engine running. He ran in, presumably to show that he’d attended, and then ran out again while the taxi was still running. So I mean that’s not normal, but it is something that does happen and I think that we have lost the sense of honour that used to pertain, and that is a great, great shame.”

That would be the same Baroness D’Souza who infamously billed the taxpayer £230 to keep a chauffeur-driven car waiting for four hours while she watched an opera a mile from Parliament. As well as another £270 bill to keep the meter running while she had lunch with the Japanese ambassador. And another £738 to keep a Mercedes parked while she attended an event at Windsor Castle. D’Souza also spent £4,000 of taxpayer cash on flowers for her office and £1,120 for drinks and a trip to the ballet with a delegation from Russia. “We have lost the sense of honour and that is a great shame…”