Sir John Bourn was fighting to keep his job on Thursday night after MPs demanded the auditor general and public spending watchdog resign over a “gigantic” £27,000 dining expenses bill.

The controversy arose after the National Audit Office published a breakdown of Sir John’s £392,000 travel and sustenance budget over the past three years, detailing trips as far afield as Almaty and Venice and unstinting meals at The Connaught and The Ritz.