Rishi Sunak spent £500k on private jets in six weeks in ‘shocking waste’ of taxpayers’ cash
Rishi Sunak splashed more than £500,000 of taxpayers’ cash on private jet hire in a matter of weeks, official figures show.
Documents slipped out on the final day before MPs went on their Easter break show the jet-setting Prime Minister racked up a bill of £512,321 in travel costs for trips to Egypt, Bali, Latvia and Estonia last year.
Mr Sunak U-turned on his plans to skip the COP27 summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, in November, after his Tory rival Boris Johnson decided to attend.
Government figures show plane hire for the visit cost £107,966, with the PM’s personal costs coming in at £3,483, including visas, accommodation, travel and meals.
Days later Mr Sunak flew out to Bali for a five-day trip to the G20 summit, racking up a £341,857 bill for jet hire and £11,204 on personal costs.
The PM also travelled to Latvia and Estonia in December for a Joint Expeditionary Force meeting, where he also visited troops stationed in the region.
The trip incurred travel costs of £62,498, with personal costs of £2,500, records show.
The PM took 35 officials on his trip to Bali and was accompanied by a delegation of reporters, including the Mirror. Journalists fund the costs of their own travel.
The plane is chartered by the Government but is emblazoned with a Union Jack flag and the words ‘United Kingdom’.
Wera Hobhouse, the Liberal Democrat climate spokesman, said: “This is a shocking waste of taxpayers’ 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.”
The PM has previously faced criticism for using taxpayer-funded private planes for short trips around the UK.
In January he went on a jaunt around Tory target seats in the North West – including a flight lasting just 28 minutes.
He also took an RAF plane on a visit to a healthcare centre in Leeds, a journey of just 2 hours 15 minutes by train.
