Thousands of public sector workers have been given permission to work from foreign countries in order to extend holidays and visit partners abroad. Freedom of information releases by the Government show that more than 2,000 such permissions were granted by a variety of quangos over the past five years. Transparency figures collated by the Taxpayers’ Alliance show that so-called quangocrats have worked as far afield as Australia, Japan and the Maldives. In some cases, quango staff have been granted permission to spend whole years working from locations such as South Carolina and Ireland. Reasons include visiting partners and family members abroad, extending trips outside of annual leave and filling urgent staffing needs which require holidaying workers to log in. The Conservatives have claimed the problem will get worse because of Labour’s support for more flexible working. Richard Holden MP, the shadow paymaster general, said: “It’s disgraceful that these sun-worshipping quangocrats seem more interested in working on their tan lines than working for the British people.” Mr Holden continued: “But it’s not surprising given Labour’s support for a four-day working week – forcing taxpayers to fund full-time pay for part-time work. “Those making people’s lives a misery should at least live...