RISHI Sunak’s use of a private jet to get to Scotland this week may have been a breach of the ministerial code, Labour have said.
The Prime Minister is facing questions over his use of an RAF plane to get from London to Aberdeenshire on Monday.
It is thought Sunak could have taken a scheduled commercial flight, with Labour pointing out that two BA flights from Heathrow landed in Aberdeen at 9.03am and 9.40am, The Guardian reported.
The ministerial code sets out the rules for the Prime Minister and other members of the Government taking private flights and suggests they only be used when it is not possible to use an ordinary commercial flight or when schedules are too tight to do so.
The code states: “Non-scheduled flights may be authorised when a scheduled service is not available, or when it is essential to travel by air, but the requirements of official or Parliamentary business or security considerations preclude the journey being made by a scheduled service.”
Sunak was questioned on his penchant for flying during an interview with Good Morning Scotland on Monday, in which the Prime Minister became irate after he was questioned on his private jet use by host Martin Geissler.
The BBC journalist questioned the PM on his travel arrangements for visiting Scotland, with Sunak replying: “I’ll be flying as I normally would and that is the most efficient use of my time.”
Emily Thornberry, the shadow attorney general, told The Guardian: “We could all hear from the Prime Minister’s tetchy and disdainful response to the BBC that he is tired of being questioned about his addiction to helicopters and private jets.
“But he cannot simply wave away the rules in his own ministerial code.
“Like every other member of the cabinet, when it is essential to travel by air he is supposed to use scheduled flights where possible because that is cheaper for the taxpayer and better for the environment.
“If those are still the rules, then he needs to explain why he has not followed them.”
The Prime Minister frequently uses a private helicopter to travel from London to his constituency in Yorkshire and has also taken a chopper to Dorset and Southampton.
