Taxpayers forked out huge sum for civil servants to stay in luxury Spanish hotel for IT conference

TAXPAYERS forked out £6,000 for civil servants to stay in a luxury Spanish hotel.

Department for Transport officials booked six rooms for an IT conference.

The Barcelona trip in November came just months after then Transport Secretary Louise Haigh handed train drivers a 15 per cent pay rise.

The Claris Hotel & Spa has a rooftop bar, swimming pool, spa and two restaurants serving up Mediterranean and ­Japanese food.

It is in the city centre, 3.5 miles from the conference centre where the Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo 2024 was held.

Elliot Keck, of The TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “Taxpayers will be livid to see civil servants ­living it up in luxury hotels on their dime.”

It is understood five staff stayed in the hotel after one dropped out.

One room was booked for five nights at £1,247, a government credit card spending report shows.

Four were booked for four nights at £997 per room and one booked for three nights at £748.

A DfT spokesman said yesterday: “As thousands of rooms had been block-booked by conference organisers, the Claris was one of the cheapest remaining options.”