30 May 2024 , 17:01
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Rishi Sunak returned from a campaign trip to Devon and Cornwall by private helicopter - after gushing about how wonderful train travel is.
The Prime Minister travelled to Penzance by sleeper train on Wednesday for a day on the campaign trail. He told broadcasters: "The train was great, I've been taking lots of pictures and videos, sending them back to my kids and saying we'll be back here as a family at some point. I’m excited to be out and about in Cornwall and heading up to Devon later today.”
The Mirror also revealed he wore a £750 backpack for the visit - to one of the poorest parts of the country - monogrammed with his initials. But rather than enjoy the “great” train home again that night, Mr Sunak is understood to have used a helicopter for the 45-minute return flight at an estimated cost of £2,500.
And pictures show the Prime Minister’s armoured Audi car and police escort parked up at London’s Battersea Heliport at around 8pm last night, awaiting his arrival.
It would have cost the PM Rishi Sunak £55 to take the train (BACKGRID)Trains run once an hour from Honiton to London and take just 3 hours - at a cost of £55 for a standard seat. They ran until around 9pm last night - long after the PM left Devon.
Rishi Sunak must be a leader, not just a manager
Labour owned Mr Sunak with a hilarious helicopter photoshop mocking how often he zips around the country in the sky. In a post on social media, the party edited the PM into a chopper on the door of No10 Downing Street with a comically cartoon lead coming out the window and attached to a dog. The caption stated simply: "Rishi Sunak taking his dog for a walk."
Labour mocked the PM's jet-setting with a photoshopped image captioned: 'Rishi Sunak taking his dog for a walk'Mr Sunak is well known for his love of taking private aircraft around the country - often for journeys that could easily be made by train. He rented an Eastern Airways Jetstream 41 turboprop plane for a trip around the country on the first day of campaigning last week.
Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho was confronted over whether it was "a good look" for the PM to zip around the country in the sky for brief campaign visits. But she dismissed the question and in a bizarre defence said Mr Sunak travelling by private jet was not going to "make a massive difference when it comes to carbon emissions".
The minister was asked by Sky News: “Is it a good look to have Rishi Sunak travelling around the country, thousands for miles for short campaign stops, on a private jet?” Ms Coutinho replied: “In all of these things, whether you’re Prime Minister or whatever it is you might be doing, you have to look at how we’re travelling, that’s very important.
The PM's motorcade was seen waiting for him outside“But also we need to make sure we are speaking to people in the country, this is a democracy, I think it’s right that the prime minister goes and talks to people, particularly when we are in such uncertain times.” Ms Coutinho was pressed on whether he has to use a private jet. “That’s not going to make a massive difference when it comes to carbon emissions, let’s be serious,” she replied.