Green-agenda-loving PM Rishi Sunak has allegedly taken multiple helicopter rides costing thousands of pounds since becoming leader, a report has claimed.
Rishi Sunak has reportedly taken multiple private helicopter rides to the North of England since becoming Prime Minister, a report on Monday has claimed.
Like the majority of his senior Tory peers, Sunak has been keen to push his green agenda at every conceivable opportunity, with the premier even saying that the ongoing war in Ukraine should be used as an excuse to “act faster” on green goals.
However, according to a report by The Guardian, Sunak does not appear to be abiding by his own green standards in many ways, with the multi-millionaire leader having taken multiple helicopter trips to his constituency in North Yorkshire.
These trips are reported as having taken place between November and December and are believed to have cost around £16,000 (~$19,300).
By contrast, The Guardian claims that Sunak could have taken a similar journey from London to North Yorkshire using the train at a cost of £87 (~$105) if booked in advance, with the journey itself said to take around two hours and 15 minutes.
The trips were reportedly paid for privately, and not by the UK government.
Sunak’s apparent decision to opt for travelling to and from his North Yorkshire constituency via private jet stands in stark contrast to his position on climate change, with the premier having repeatedly argued for aggressive measures aimed at cutting emissions.
Despite many Britons facing crippling energy costs as a result of the war in Ukraine, Sunak has been adamant that the Tory party’s green crusade continues, going so far as to reimplement a ban on fracking shortly after becoming Prime Minister last year.
Even the ongoing war in Ukraine is not seen as a good enough excuse to roll back on the climate agenda, with Sunak even telling last year’s COP27 climate conference that Russia’s invasion should be an excuse to push green politics even harder.
“Putin’s abhorrent war in Ukraine and rising energy prices across the world are not a reason to go slow on climate change,” he said. “They are a reason to act faster.”
Such carbon-cutting aims do not seem to extend to his own lifestyle however, with Sunak not only taking multiple helicopter rides since assuming his position as Prime Minister, but also multiple carbon-spewing private jet flights as well.
Sunak is said to have at one point even used a government private jet three times within the space of ten days to travel within the UK, despite the fact that all of his destinations were reachable by far less environmentally and economically costly means.
“Rishi Sunak isn’t even trying to hide these recklessly expensive habits anymore. Jetting around the country on taxpayers’ money like an A-list celeb rather than catching a train like the rest of us is simply absurd,” one Labour spokesman remarked regarding the flights.
However, Sunak himself defended the trip as allowing him to do “lots of things in one day”.
“I’m not travelling around just for my own enjoyment — although this is very enjoyable, of course,” he said. “Trust me, I’m working as hard as I can to deliver for you and I travel to make myself as effective as possible.”
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