Bank's summer party bill almost £100k

Spending on the Bank of England’s summer party crept closer to £100,000 this year despite Threadneedle Street promising MPs it would put the expensive event under review. Figures released by the central bank showed that party planners racked up a bill of £96,188 on the event, which hosted nearly 2,500 staff and their families at the Bank’s sports club in Roehampton, south-west London in July. Costs for the annual party – known as Governors’ Day – included more than £52,200 on food and soft drinks and nearly £30,000 on family entertainment, which in 2018 involved a treasure hunt, bake-off competition, fun run and bouncy castle. Dorothy Thompson, a Court director and former Drax chief executive, defended the party but said the Bank was looking to rein in spending.