FORMER UK PRIME MINISTER Liz Truss is contesting a bill from the UK Government relating to her use of a country house she had access to as foreign secretary.

Truss has been asked to pay about £12,000 ( €13,500) for costs incurred while she spent time at the Chevening estate, the Mail on Sunday reported.

The invoice covers the period last summer when she was preparing for her short-lived term as prime minister and is understood to have been received by Truss several weeks ago.

Chevening, a 115-room country retreat in Kent, was left to the nation by an earl after his death in 1967 and has traditionally been used by the foreign secretary.

The PA news agency has been told Truss is happy to replace any items said to be missing from the estate, reported to include bathrobes and slippers.

But the former prime minister maintains the vast majority of the invoice relates to official government business, for which she should not be liable.

A spokesman for Truss said: “Liz always paid for the costs of her personal guests at Chevening.

“The latest invoice contains a mixture of costs for her personally and costs for official government business with civil servants including (Cabinet Secretary) Simon Case and senior officials from other departments who met at Chevening during the transition preparations.

“The latter constitutes the majority of the bill. It would be inappropriate for her to pay the costs for officials as it would have breached the Civil Service Code for civil servants to accept hospitality during the leadership campaign. She has therefore asked for this to be billed separately.”