Ewart Brown Bermuda's playboy travel bill tops in $265,000 9 mths

Premier and colleagues' travel bill tops $250,000 over nine months

Travel expenses: Premier Dr. Ewart Brown (second from right) seen here in London last December attending a meeting of the Overseas Territories Consultative Council.

Premier Ewart Brown and his travelling companions spent $265,000 of taxpayers' money in nine months, according to figures released in the House of Assembly.

The Premier's overseas trips cost an average $29,400 a month from May 2009 to the end of last month — up from $26,600 a month during 2008/09, despite promises to cut back during the economic crisis.

Dr. Brown's personal ground transport bill came to $33,300 — including $7,900 during a four-day stay in Washington, D.C. — with his companions charging for their own ground travel on top of that.

The Premier's airfare for a trip taking in London and Copenhagen in December cost taxpayers $8,000, and five people traveling with him around another $5,000 each.

That trip came about two weeks after Cabinet ordered severe cutbacks, with a memo being sent to all ministries and departments on November 26, warning them: "Travel is to be cut back to essential business travel only for the remainder of this year; and all travel must be ECONOMY CLASS, no matter the distance."

Last September's visit to Washington, D.C., to open Bermuda's Washington office and attend the Congressional Black Caucus, cost a total of $62,700, although that figure includes airfares for a second leg of the trip to London for the Labour Party Conference.

The Royal Gazette reported three weeks ago how the Washington office was still without staff and Cabinet hadn't advertised any jobs for it due to economic constraints.

Dr. Brown was accompanied in Washington by press secretaries Arnold Minors and Glenn Jones, Executive Aide Jamahl Simmons, Junior Minister Marc Bean, Cabinet Secretary Marc Telemaque and Assistant Cabinet Secretary Judith Hall-Bean.

It is understood the Premier travels around in luxurious SUVs while overseas. For the Washington trip, his $7,930 ground travel fare compares to $27 for Mr. Telemaque, $161 for Sen. Bean and $254 for Mr. Jones; Ms Hall-Bean, Mr. Simmons and Mr. Minors made no claims for ground travel.

Three months later, the London/Copenhagen visit cost $115,000, and took in the Overseas Territories Consultative Council meeting in London, the UK student dinner and the climate change conference in Denmark, where the Premier spoke on behalf of the Overseas Territories.

Mr. Simmons and his successor Dale Jackson, as well as Mr. Minors, Ms Hall-Bean and Mr. Telemaque attended various stages of the seven-day trip.

On that visit, the Premier spent $12,669 on ground travel, compared to $234 by Mr. Telemaque, Mr. Simmons $230, Mr. Jackson $79, Mr. Minors nothing and Ms Hall-Bean nothing.

Dr. Brown's hotel bill in London and Copenhagen was $27,039 — $3,862 per night — with Mr. Minors and Mr. Jackson's just over $13,000 each.

In total over the nine months, Dr. Brown and his team spent $248,719 on Cabinet Office events, and a further $16,408 on Tourism events, making a combined $265,127.