Defence chiefs spent more than £200million of taxpayers’ money on travel and luxury stays – while troops lived in squalid conditions

By SEAN RAYMENT

Published: 00:31 BST, 25 May 2025 | Updated: 00:39 BST, 25 May 2025

Defence chiefs spent more than £200 million of taxpayers’ money on travel and luxury stays for senior staff last year while troops lived in squalid conditions.

Figures released by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) show that officers and civil servants stayed in five-star hotels often costing more than £300 a night. 

The MoD spent almost £800 million on hotels and travel between 2018 and 2024 at locations such as the French Alps and Las Vegas.

In sharp contrast, the living conditions of troops in UK Armed Forces accommodation during the same period – some infested with vermin and harmful black mould – led to more than 60,000 complaints.

Meanwhile freedom of information requests obtained by The Mail on Sunday and National Security News revealed a huge leap in costs from £136 million in 2018 to £218 million by 2024 covering hotel accommodation, flights and travel by train and ferry.

The figures revealed numerous MoD personnel stayed in pricey hotels in central London including the Park Plaza and the Marriott – which can cost up to £400 a night.

Outside of the UK a £1,426 bill was submitted for a four-night stay at the Auberge Saint Hubert Hotel Val D’Isere ski resort in France, a bill of £1,032 was also racked up at the Novotel Sydney Harbour for three nights and one staff member spent seven nights at the Anantara The Palm Dubai Resort which cost £2,439.

And another staff member spent £323 for one night at the four-star Hampton Inn Tropicana in Las Vegas. Defending the costs, the MoD argued that more than 200,000 civil servants and military personnel are deployed overseas and often needed to be accommodated in hotels.

The MoD spent almost £800 million on hotels and travel between 2018 and 2024 at locations such as the French Alps and Las Vegas .

Outside of the UK a £1,426 bill was submitted for a four-night stay at the Auberge Saint Hubert Hotel Val D’Isere ski resort in France

One commanding officer of an infantry battalion based in Bulford told the MoS: ‘I have soldiers living in really poor-quality housing who are constantly battling to get repairs. I have soldiers on sick leave living in homes which are barely habitable.’

Callum McGoldrick, researcher at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: ‘Splashing hundreds of millions on hotels and flights raises questions about priorities in Whitehall. Ministers must get a grip on MoD spending.’

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: ‘These figures relate to spend under the previous government. This Government is committed to getting a grip of MoD budgets.’

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Defence chiefs spent more than £200million of taxpayers’ money on travel and luxury stays – while troops lived in squalid conditions

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