Despite it being the SNP’s main political goal, Scotland came no closer to becoming an independent state during Nicola Sturgeon’s long tenure as First Minister. Still, for Sturgeon, the SNP being in charge had at least one perk – it allowed her to cosplay as a world leader on the global stage. Who could forget the jet setting and endless summits, complete with awkward selfies with the great and good that defined her term?

Now, official spending receipts obtained by the Labour party show the extent to which taxpayers footed the bill for these foreign jamborees.

According to the documents, Scottish civil servants made 58,000 bank transactions using taxpayer funded cards between September 2019 and August last year. Officials purchased items such as nail polish, crockery, a leaving card, a ‘homedisco’ and even a driving theory test for a member of staff. There was also one payment of £4,182 for hospitality and accommodation at the five-star Gleneagles Hotel in Perthshire.

Officials also spent nearly £10,000 on ‘VIP services’ used by the First Minister on her travels. According to the documents, the money was spent on ‘meet and greets’ for Sturgeon and her staff, with Ace Handling the most frequent company used, which promises to serve its clients ‘like royalty’ (or first ministers, perhaps). One of the services it offers is picking clients up ‘kerbside from their car, then whisked through the check-in, security procedures, to the VIP lounge, and then to the awaiting flight.’ The Scottish government said it could not comment on a first minister’s travel plans for security reasons.

Mr S understands of course that it makes sense for officials acting on behalf of the state to have their travel paid for. But it’s worth pointing out here that foreign affairs is a reserved matter – and so not the responsibility of the Scottish government at all. In other words, it appears that taxpayers ended up footing the ‘VIP’ bill for Nicola Sturgeon’s ego trips.

No wonder the SNP is in such a state…