By SCM Political Correspondent
BRITAIN’S bloated bureaucracy is set to flog off a staggering 6,500 properties worldwide, from plush embassies to high-end diplomatic pads, in a bid to slash its massive overseas bill.
The Foreign Office (F.O.) is launching a massive “rationalisation” of its estate, admitting it’s currently a hotbed of “high-cost locations” that are bleeding the British taxpayer dry.
But the move comes just as it was revealed that our globe-trotting diplomats splurged a jaw-dropping $16 MILLION (£12.8 million) on a single flat in New York for post-Brexit negotiations!
The eye-watering sum, spent in 2019, bought the luxury apartment for staff as they prepared for crucial trade talks across the pond.
The decision to cut costs is long overdue, as the F.O. admits maintaining its vast portfolio of 6,500 properties is simply unsustainable.
Critics will point to the shocking New York purchase as proof that some of our diplomatic elite have been enjoying a lavish lifestyle on the taxpayer’s dime.
One source told The Sun: “It’s outrageous. Hard-working Brits are struggling with their mortgages and energy bills, while our civil servants are splashing out millions on flats in the poshest parts of Manhattan.
”Rationalising the estate is a great idea, but it shouldn’t have taken a crisis to make them realise they own a small village of homes across the world.”
The F.O. has singled out New York as one of the prime targets for cuts, where costs for housing and maintaining staff are astronomical.
The clear-out will see thousands of properties put on the market, meaning some diplomats will finally have to swap their taxpayer-funded mansions for something a little more modest.