The payments were highlighted by Labour’s shadow attorney-general, Emily Thornberry, as she raised concerns about the department’s use of government procurement cards. He has claimed dozens of transactions, including two payments to a “barber and beauty shop” of £2,360 on November 15 last year and £1,973.30 on March 22 this year. Ms Thornberry also disputed two payments to Norwich City’s online store of £1,318 on October 21 last year and £523.50 on March 21 this year. It is not known who made the payments or what was purchased. At the time, Ms Truss, who is the MP for South West Norfolk and a Canaries fan, was Foreign Secretary. In a letter to junior secretary of state Gillian Keegan about spending on the department’s cards, Ms Thornberry acknowledged there would be proper reasons for the vast majority of purchases made. Image: Liz Truss, who was Foreign Secretary before becoming Prime Minister, is a Norwich City fan He added: “However, there are also many items and categories of expenditure which – on the surface – are not so easily understood and appear unusual in the context of FCDO’s past expenditure: high-end private catering, wellness and beauty treatments, extensive procurement from UK wineries , large quantities of home furnishings and even £1,841 spent at Norwich City’s club shop.” Ms Thornberry also noted that “especially during a cost of living crisis – taxpayers want to know that every pound of their money is being spent appropriately and when there is evidence of unusual or excessive spending in any corner of government, they will want to see the appropriate controls’. A Foreign Office spokesman said: “We are committed to using public money responsibly. Our staff follow set guidelines to ensure that purchases are appropriate and achieve value for money for the taxpayer.”
