Taxpayers have been landed with a bill of nearly £100,000 for John Swinney and another SNP minister to attend the World Cup to cheer on Scotland.

The First Minister was accompanied by a huge entourage of 12 aides and officials for his trip to Boston to watch Scotland’s match against Haiti in June, before a visit to Kentucky.

His Sport minister and four more officials then visited Miami for the national team’s clash with Brazil.

The total bill for the trip, including flights, car hire, hotels and other expenses, was £98,442.

Nearly half of that total came from the business class flights of Mr Swinney and his two closest aides.

While Scotland won the opening fixture, the tournament ended in failure with defeats to Morocco and Brazil meaning the team failed to qualify from the group stage.

Scottish Conservative MSP Stephen Kerr said: ‘Taxpayers will be stunned that they are picking up such a large tab for John Swinney and Maree Todd to have enjoyed themselves at the World Cup.

‘Nobody begrudged SNP ministers joining the Tartan Army to cheer on Scotland men’s team at their first World Cup appearance in nearly three decades, but in typical SNP fashion costs were never kept under control.

‘Swinney and his ministerial colleague were clearly happy to escape all the challenges facing them back home, but they should have met these significant costs out of their own pocket. That would have been the right thing to do given they are forcing Scots to pay more but get less on a daily basis.’

Mr Swinney travelled to Boston from June 11-14, then onto Kentucky over June 14-15 before returning to Scotland.

His own flights, which were business class, totalled £17,893. Two of his close aides also travelled business class, with £17,893 also spent on the flights of his private secretary John Webster and £9,864 on his special adviser and chief of staff Colin McAllister.

The rest of the First Minister’s delegation, which included communications staff, a content manager, a visits and events official and members of the Scottish Government’s US office, travelled economy class, with the total cost of flights at £57,441. A further £14,082 was spent on hotels, including £1,072 for Mr Swinney, £930 for Mr Webster and £1,210 for Mr McAllister while £10,095 was spent on car hire.

Ms Todd was in Miami from June 22-25 with four officials. All their travel was economy class and cost a total of £5,485, while £2,810 was spent on hotels, £5,458 on car hire and £550 on expenses.

Scottish Labour deputy leader Dame Jackie Baillie said: ‘Eyebrows will be raised at the amount of money that has been spent to send John Swinney and several officials to the US for the World Cup.

‘While it is important that Scotland is represented on the global stage, taxpayers must be reassured of what benefit there was in using £50,000 of public money on flights for just three people.

‘Many hardworking people across Scotland would love to be able to afford such a luxury. It would not be right for the First Minister and officials to be living the high life on their expense.’

Sam Taylor, founder of the think-tank These Islands, said: ‘Senior government people flying business class is perfectly reasonable. But nearly £50k on flights, for just three people, is a remarkably high price to pay.’

He also highlighted that Ms Todd ‘was much more frugal’.

Mr Swinney and Ms Todd both attended the Scotland matches as a guest of world football governing body FIFA.

Two other SNP ministers – Stephen Flynn and Alison Thewliss – were granted time off parliament and government duties to attend the tournament in a personal capacity at their own cost.

When he flew out on the trip, Mr Swinney denied that it was a taxpayer-funded ‘jolly’, saying: ‘I think it is important that government ministers go on official business and I’ve got a crammed programme of investment discussions as well.’

His itinerary included a visit to Harvard University, a meeting with Boston’s Mayor Michelle Wu, a meeting with the Governor of Massachusetts Maura Healey, and trade engagements alongside the Scotch Whisky Association, Kentucky Distillers Association and The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States.

Alongside the publication of the costs of the trip, the Scottish Government said: ‘The First Minister and Maree Todd MSP, Minister for Mental Wellbeing, Public Health, Sport, Alcohol and Drugs, travelled to the USA to support the national team at the World Cup. They also held meetings to strengthen trade, tourism, culture and diaspora ties, and to promote investment in Scotland.’

The Scottish Government said that decisions on travel are informed by factors including logistics, journey times and the operational needs of ministers and supporting officials, and may involve a mix of business and economy class travel.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: 'International travel allows Ministers to promote Scotland, build relationships and boost investment. The Scotland’s men’s team qualifying for the World Cup for the first time since 1998 was a unique opportunity to position and promote Scotland’s interests through a major global event.

'The First Minister and Sport Minister Maree Todd travelled to the USA in an official Ministerial capacity to support the men’s national team at the World Cup and undertake a programme of engagements to strengthen trade, tourism, culture and diaspora relationships and seek to attract further inward investment in Scotland.

'When arranging ministerial overseas visits, the cost to the public purse is taken into consideration and visits cover a wide range of areas to ensure best value for money.'