Scottish Government minister Richard Lochhead spent £2.5k on chauffeur-driven transport around Los Angeles

Small business and trade minister Richard Lochhead and Scottish Government staff accrued the costs on a trip to Los Angeles

More than £2,500 of taxpayers’ money was spent to transport a Scottish Government minister and colleagues around in a chauffeur-driven vehicle in Los Angeles.

Richard Lochhead, the small business, innovation, tourism and trade minister, racked up the fees during a trip in October last year where he delivered a speech on how Scotland “seeks to become a leading European space nation”.

The 15-minute speech was given at the Space Economy Summit hosted by The Economist magazine.

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Critics have accused Mr Lochhead of being in “La-La land” for asking taxpayers to pick up the bill.

The Times reported the costs of the trip released under a Freedom of Information request, revealing £2,514.89 went on “chauffeur car travel”. A further £7,979.85 was spent on plane tickets, £821.95 on accommodation and £438.12 on additional “travel and subsistence”.

The trip to Los Angeles lasted three days, with Mr Lochhead accompanied by three members of staff.

Murdo Fraser, the Scottish Conservative business spokesman, said: “It was always questionable whether Richard Lochhead really needed to take this trip to Los Angeles, but no one could possibly defend these costs.

"There’s no conceivable excuse for spending over £2,500 of taxpayers’ money on a chauffeured car when Scottish households are struggling with a cost-of-living crisis and savage cuts imposed by the latest SNP Budget.

“We know that SNP ministers feel most at home in La-La land, but there’s no reason why Scots should have to foot the bill for jaunts of this sort.”

The chauffeur-driven transport was described as a “multi-seater” used to transport Mr Lochhead and his “Team Scotland” delegation.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Scottish ministers have a clear role to play in realising Scotland’s ambition to become one of Europe’s leading space nations by fostering trade links and creating inward investment opportunities.

“This visit provided an opportunity to further tap into the enormous $546 billion US space economy. Over three days, the trade minister undertook 17 engagements with industry experts, business leaders and potential investors to discuss investment in Scotland as part of the multi-agency ‘Team Scotland’ mission.

"This is an approach which has helped Scotland consistently rank as the top performing area for inward investment projects in the UK outside of London.”