Starmer used taxpayer-funded private jet to fly to Euros final

Telegraph

5 days ago

Sir Keir Starmer has been accused of 'staggering' hypocrisy after flying to the Women's Euros final in a private government jet.
The Prime Minister took the Government's VIP Airbus A321 from London to Zurich on Sunday to arrive in time for the final of the tournament.
The journey, which cost taxpayers an estimated £35,000, arrived less than an hour before the next scheduled flight from London.
In opposition, Sir Keir criticised the Conservatives for their use of government jets, arguing that Rishi Sunak 'doesn't get' what the public want because 'the view on the ground is very different to that from his private jet'.
Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, pledged at Labour's party conference in 2023 to clamp down on official use of government planes to 'save millions of pounds for taxpayers'.
But official figures released in June showed Labour ministers had spent three times more on domestic air travel in the first 10 months after the election compared with the equivalent period when Mr Sunak was prime minister.
Flight records show Sir Keir took off from London Stansted on the government plane, which is leased by the Cabinet Office to provide VIP transport services for ministers and the Royal family.
He landed in Zurich at 2.18pm, less than an hour before the next scheduled flight by Swiss Air and fewer than two hours after an earlier flight operated by British Airways.
He was pictured watching the match, in which the England women's team beat Spain on penalties to take home the tournament trophy for the second time in a row.
The Ministerial Code, updated by Sir Keir earlier this year, states that members of the Government 'must ensure that they always make efficient and cost-effective travel arrangements'.
On Monday, Sir Keir took the same jet from Zurich to Prestwick Airport, which is close to the Turnberry golf resort where he will meet Donald Trump.
The second flight is estimated to have cost at least £40,000 and was planned to leave Switzerland one hour and 25 minutes after a commercial flight from Zurich to Edinburgh Airport – which is a one hour and 45-minute car journey from the resort.
Later, Sir Keir will fly again from Prestwick to Aberdeen for a visit to another of Mr Trump's hotels near Aberdeen.
The Conservatives accused him of 'staggering' hypocrisy after his party repeatedly criticised Mr Sunak for doing the same before the general election.
Mike Wood, a shadow Cabinet Office minister, said: 'Yet again, it's one rule for him and one for everyone else with two-tier Keir.
'The hypocrisy is staggering. After acting holier-than-thou in opposition, Starmer has totally changed his tone in government, and still wants to pretend to the public that he is different.
'But the British people will not be fooled – they see Keir Starmer for exactly who he is.'
It comes after private jet figures published last month showed Labour ministers had spent £102,000 on domestic private air travel in the 10 months after the general election.
Mr Sunak's government spent £36,900 in the same period after he took office in October 2022.
The following year, Ms Reeves pledged to 'enforce the ministerial code on the use of private planes ' which she said would 'save millions of pounds for taxpayers in the process' because of the 'extortionate cost' of the flights.
She announced in last year's Budget that private jet passengers would pay an additional 50 per cent in tax, to reduce carbon emissions from the sector.
A Downing Street spokesman said on Monday that the Government 'never get[s] into operational decisions' on Sir Keir's travel, but that 'the costs of these things we publish in the usual way'.
'We always take an approach to the Prime Minister's travel, that there is value for money for the taxpayer,' the spokesman said.