Prime Minister Boris Johnson took a private jet from Glasgow to London for a reunion dinner with his former Telegraph colleagues at an exclusive private members’ club, according to reports.
During the United Nations COP26 climate summit conference, Mr Johnson had said world leaders must “act now” to stop global warming, saying: “Humanity has long since run down the clock on climate change.
“It’s one minute to midnight and we need to act now. If we don’t get serious about climate change today, it will be too late for our children to do so tomorrow.”
Mr Johnson also appeared to be worried about being too late for dinner, with The Mirror claiming to have photographed Prime Minister Johnson leaving private members’ club The Garrick Club at 10 p.m. on Tuesday after having flown the 400 miles from Glasgow International Airport to London Stansted, following his portion of events at the summit that evening.
The newspaper reported that it was a reunion dinner for Telegraph journalists, with Mr Johnson having formerly been employed as a columnist for the Tory Party-backing newspaper, where he was earning £250,000 a year.
Downing Street defended the use of the private jet, saying: “All travel decisions are made with consideration for security and time restraints.
“The Prime Minister returned on Tuesday night from four days of engagements in Rome and Glasgow, ahead of updating Parliament on the important commitments secured both at the G20 and COP26.
“The Prime Minister travelled on one of the most carbon efficient planes of its size in the world, using the most sustainable aviation fuel possible.
“The UK will be offsetting all carbon emissions associated with running COP26 including travel.”
That the prime minister would be travelling back to London by plane, rather than the four to five hours by train, had already been reported earlier in the week, but the flight remains the latest instance of apparent hypocrisy from world leaders and influencers lecturing the public on reducing carbon emissions after flying sometimes thousands of miles to Scotland for a few days for the climate conference.
Reports in recent weeks have claimed that more than 400 private jets would be ferrying delegates to COP26, including Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, who arrived in a $65 million Gulfstream.
Prince Charles also flew in from Rome to Glasgow by private jet, separately from the prime minister.
During the G20 conference in the Italian capital that preceded the climate conference, Prince Charles had claimed that it was the “last chance saloon” to save the planet, before demanding at COP26 that the world employ a “vast military-style campaign” to combat climate change.
U.S. President Joe Biden’s trip to Scotland emitted an estimated 2.2 million pounds of C02. His entourage was comprised of four aeroplanes, a helicopter, and a 20-vehicle motorcade including his limo The Beast and its double, used as a decoy. The Beast reportedly produces around 8.75lb of carbon per mile — 10 times more than the average car.
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