Rishi Sunak has reportedly spent more than £500,000 of taxpayers' money on private jets in just two weeks. The Prime Minister spent the money on three trips in November.
He flew to the COP27 climate conference in Egypt, the G20 Summit in Indonesia and a Joint Expeditionary Force meeting and an armed forces visit in Latvia and Estonia. The Liberal Democrats said that it was "a shocking waste of taxpayers' money" and showed that the Tory Government is "completely out of touch".
But the Prime Minister's team said that the £512,321 spent on private jets or RAF plane hire across the eight-day period was needed for “vital” engagements. Sunak had initially planned against going to the COP27 conference in Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt, but changed his mind after his predecessor Boris Johnson decided to attend.
The plane rental costed £107,966, according to The Mirror and The Telegraph. Sunak's personal costs were £3,483. This includes visas, accommodation, travel and meals. The trip took place on November 6 and 7.
Sunak flew out to Bali for a five-day trip on November 13. His jet hire costed £341,857 bill for jet hire and he spent £11,204 on personal costs. The Latvia and Estonia trip incurred travel costs of £62,498, with personal costs of £2,500.
Liberal Democrat Energy and Climate Spokesperson Wera Hobhouse MP said: “This is a shocking waste of taxpayer’s money at a time when people are struggling to pay their bills. Yet again this Conservative government is completely out of touch.
“The government can pretend to care about a greener future with their so called ‘Green Day’ but the reality is they are trashing their own promises.”
A No10 spokesman said: “The role of the Prime Minister includes holding vital meetings with world leaders during bilateral visits and summits to discuss issues of international importance – including security, defence and trade.”
Sunak has previously been criticised for using taxpayer-funded private planes for internal flights. In January he went around Tory target seats in the North West and used a 28 minute-minute plane journey. He also took an RAF plane on a visit to a healthcare centre in Leeds, which takes less than two-and-a-half hours by train.
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