Werritty and the money question
How much did Adam Werritty spend on all those trips abroad where he bumped into Liam Fox?
The answer may be a staggeringly high amount. After all, the Guardian reported that at least one of the 18 trips involved First Class travel.
I've done an analysis based on British Airways fares to the various destinations, which included Dubai five times, plus Hong Kong Washington and Singapore twice each. Exact costs are impossible to determine because fares vary according to demand so I'm basing this on return flights taken this week.
Flying in BA’s cheapest economy seats, the 18 trips would cost £25,000 in tickets. However, if Mr Werritty went business class, his ticket expenses alone would have gone up to £77,146.
Now let's add in two nights stay each trip in a typical £200 a night business hotel, costing another £7,200.
That would take the total travel cost to £85,000. But then there are all those dinners at the sort of costly restaurants where one might just bump into a millionaire private equity boss. With such high subsistence costs, he could easily have spent over £100,000.
I think these are conservative estimates. If, as suggested by the Guardian, he flew First Class then the tickets would have been a third more expensive.
It does beg a pretty big question. Who the hell was paying for all of this and what did they think they were getting out of it?
There may be a perfectly dull and innocent explanation. But I've left two messages on Adam Werritty's mobile and I'm still waiting to for him to phone back and give it.
Joe Murphy
follow me on Twitter @JoeMurphyLondon
"Who the hell was paying for all of this and what did they think they were getting out of it?"
Especially as Mr Werritty's accounts show that he made only £20k in four years as a consultant.
Posted by: Bitethehand | 10/11/2011 at 04:21 PM