As if a salary of £376,190 a year were not enough, UCL has been funding the lavish life- style of UCL Provost, Professor Malcolm Grant as he travels the world as part of a trade delega- tion on supposed UCL business, according to a Freedom of In- formation request made by The Cheese Grater.
While on a tour of the Middle East in February 2010 with then Business Secretary, Peter Mandelson, Grant spent one night in Le Meridian Royal Hotel in Abu Dhabi, and anoth- er two in the Four Seasons Ho- tel in Doha, Qatar. The cost to College for the three night stay: £878.10.
The Provost’s Office ve- hemently denies that he was there in an ambassadorial ca- pacity and maintains that gain- ing governmental approval for the opening of the UCL Qatar Campus and discussion with the Emir of Qatar falls within his College purview rather than in his role as Business Ambassador, but the fact remains that UCL has shelled out nearly a thou- sand pounds in hotel expenses for this trip alone.
When The Cheese Grater called Le Meridian seeking prices for the coming February, it was offered a room costing just £74.18, including taxes. Even the luxurious Diplomat Suite came in a snip at £278.41 for the night, a far cry from the £425.76 UCL was charged by Grant.
Grant does not lay off the heavy spending when on official business: he amassed £18,707.90 in the academic year 2009–10 and £19,335.30 in the year pre- ceding that, sometimes spending almost £500 per night on hotels whilst away. He clocked up an entertainment bill of £2113.22 and a further £1284.96 phone bill over the year.
Correction: This article was originally published stat- ing that the Provost stayed only one night in the Four Seasons Hotel in Doha, Qatar. We have been informed that the figure of £452.34 actually covers two nights stay in the hotel.