Fury as giggling Whitehall pen-pushers use Prime Minister’s official jet for shameless £50,000 boozy jolly over Britain
A GROUP of giggling Whitehall pen-pushers used the Prime Minister’s official jet for a shameless £50,000 boozy jolly over Britain.
The 700-mile red-carpet junket came as ordinary Brits struggle with the cost of living crisis amid the fallout from war in Ukraine.
The sightseeing flight for a dozen Foreign Office officials was last night branded “shameful” amid the crippling cost of living crisis.
The pen-pushers were given the red carpet treatment as they boarded the PM’s official plane — complete with a well-stocked booze trolley — for a jaunt costing around £50,000.
The Airbus, expected to take the new PM to Balmoral to be sworn in by the Queen next Tuesday, took off from Stansted before roaring north to the Lake District and back again.
During the 700-mile, 91-minute flight, the group of civil servants were served a fancy meal with a selection of alcoholic drinks.
Read more on civil servants
Meanwhile, 30,000ft below them ordinary Brits were being battered by the cost-of-living squeeze and the escalating energy crisis.
The Government last night said the plane — Britain’s version of the US President’s Air Force One — was being taken out for a maintenance trip in a bid to avoid further costs.
However, insiders admitted the inclusion of the giggling Foreign Office team meant that it was effectively a “jolly”.
Labour’s Shadow Trade Secretary Emily Thornberry said: “This would be utterly disgraceful behaviour at the best of times, but in the middle of our country’s current crisis, it is shameful beyond words.”
Most read in The Sun
Another astonished critic said of Wednesday afternoon’s jaunt: “It was clearly some kind of out-of-office fun day.
“While the average Brit is struggling to get by and get a plane, train or even drive anywhere, these civil servants go for a nice little trip on a stunning ministerial jet. It’s all right for some, isn’t it?”
The senior civil servants would normally have been working at the Foreign Office dealing with complex overseas issues such as the war in Ukraine.
Instead, the group of 12 men and women looked like they were heading for a carefree day at the races when they arrived to a VIP-style welcome at Stansted in Essex.
Some started taking selfies as they trod the red carpet laid out for them, and it is believed the photographs continued once they had boarded the Airbus A321 at 12.26pm.
The Foreign Office mandarins will have enjoyed its cream leather seats with faux wood panelling, luxury crystal glasses and fine bone china crockery as well as wifi.
After finally taking off at 1.30pm, it headed north west to give its pampered passengers a spectacular view of the Lake District, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The plane then headed further north to the historic spa town of Moffat, near Dumfries on the Scottish Borders, before turning round.
It landed back at Stansted at 2.34pm, with the officials photographed disembarking around ten minutes later.
The plane is estimated to have pumped out around 300kg of CO2 emissions during the flight, flying in the face of outgoing PM Boris Johnson’s green policy.
The Foreign Office confirmed there was booze on board, but refused to say if any was consumed.
A source said it would have cost around £50,000.
They asked: “Why did so many officials have to go on an apparent maintenance trip?
It was clearly some kind of out-of-office fun day. While the average Brit is struggling to get by and get a plane, train or even drive anywhere, these civil servants go for a nice little trip on a stunning ministerial jet. It’s all right for some, isn’t it?
“It’s certainly questionable.
“This could well have cost around £50,000 when you take into account fuel and crew costs, ground handling fees, plus departure and arrival fees.
“It certainly leaves a bad taste in your mouth.”
John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, added: “Taxpayers will wonder why pen-pushers had the privilege of taking a government jet out for a spin.”
The Government are leasing the £80million plane.
The A321, tail number G-GBNI, was dubbed “Baby Boris Force One” as it had the same “Global Britain” livery as the Prime Minister’s primary jet — an RAF Voyager — which the Government spent £900,000 painting.
In July Mr Johnson was accused of using Government planes as his “personal taxi service” after he sent the A321 to take him and his family home from a seaside trip in Cornwall.
Flight data shows the plane’s last trip was on July 21, from Darlington to Stansted.
The Government said last night it had to be taken out by Sunday as it must be flown within 45 days.
A government source said: “A number of officials joined the flight to make sure that, following a recent reconfiguration of the aircraft, it would still meet ministerial requirements.”
However, an aviation expert, who asked not to be named, said the check could have been completed in half the time.
They said: “This trip could have been done in, say, 45 minutes.
“It’s just to make sure the plane is doing everything properly.
“It’s basically like when you take out a car that’s not been driven a while to make sure brakes and other important bits work.”
READ MORE SUN STORIES
Read More on The Sun
Its operator Titan Airways boasts on its website of specialising in “bespoke air charter travel” and says it has a “wide array of menus and in-flight packages” that can be “tailored to your needs”. It did not respond to a request for comment yesterday.
A government spokesman said: “In order to comply with Airbus and aviation industry rules the aircraft was legally bound to operate a maintenance flight before September 4 or face significant additional storage costs.”
