£1,120 for civil servant pottery classes, revealed by data

A pottery painting course for civil servants attending a team building session cost taxpayers £1,120, official documents show.

The spending at the Government Legal Department (GLD) was published last week as part of departmental expenses disclosures.

The online document named the individuals making the expenses claim, but it has since been taken down.

The department has been approached for comment.

The Sun newspaper, which first reported the spending on the ceramics workshop, says the team building session was attended by 35 officials.

The data covers spending of more than £500 on government debit cards at the GLD, an executive agency that gives legal advice to government departments, between November 2021 and May 2022.

Headquartered in London, the GLD is overseen by cabinet minister and attorney general for England and Wales Suella Braverman.

As well as the £1,120 on the ceramics course, the expenses claims also include £965 on a height-adjustable desk.

The Labour Party has accused the department of a "data breach" by publishing the document, which among other things identified an individual who claimed for a ticket to an online summit for LGBT leaders.

Shadow attorney general Emily Thornberry said: "I don't know what's worse, the attorney-general breaching her own data protection rules by mistake or her civil servants spending their working days painting pottery."