British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly criticised for use of $12,000-an-hour private jet

British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly is in the midst of a four-country trip to the Caribbean and South America and has recently come under fire for his choice of aircraft. At a time when the economy in the United Kingdom is not faring well and the country is facing a cost of living crisis, the minister chose to travel in luxury with the Embraer Lineage 1000E, reported The Guardian.

‘Best luxury jet money can buy’: Embraer Lineage 1000E

According to the media report, the jet costs more than 10,000 pounds (over $12,000) an hour to hire and includes several amenities like a lounge area with big-screen TV, a master suite complete with a queen-size bed, a private bathroom and a shower. The Embraer Lineage 1000E has been described as “one of the best luxury private jets money can buy” by Business Insider.

The aircraft from the German aviation company has also featured in the fleet of corporate jets and is a go-to private jet used by the billionaire Roy family in the hit TV show Succession. As per media reports, the ten-day trip that the British foreign secretary is on would cost the UK taxpayers about 348,000 pounds (approximately $431,078).

As of Monday, with a flying time of nearly 19 hours since Cleverly visited Jamaica, Colombia, and Chile, the private jet has already cost the taxpayersaround 228,000 pounds (approx $282,520), reported The Mirror.

‘Ludicrous extravagance’: Opposition Labour Party on use of private jet

The opposition Labour Party has called the hire of Embraer Lineage 1000Ea “ludicrous extravagance” and accused the UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government of being out of touch with the public, as per The Guardian.

The shadow Attorney General, Emily Thornberry acknowledged that while travelling overseas is an essential part of the foreign secretary’s role, it does not justify his use of a luxury jet when British families are running out of ways to make ends meet.

“At a time when British families are running out of ways to make ends meet – James Cleverly thought it was appropriate to conduct this tour in the kind of luxury jet used by billionaires and pop stars, with British taxpayers footing the bill,” said Thornberry, as quoted by The Guardian.

She added, “This sort of ludicrous extravagance at the public expense just shows how out of touch Rishi Sunak’s government are. No wonder their response to the cost of living crisis has been so utterly hopeless when they have such little concept of what ordinary life is like for people in our country.”

According to the media report, between the beginning of 2021 and the end of last year, foreign secretaries -Dominic Raab,Liz Truss and Cleverly -have hired private jets or used one of the government’s fleets of ministerial planes to travel overseas on 31 separate occasions. The cost of which, as per The Guardian, would amount to 4.6 million pounds (approx $5.7 million).

Not to mention the cost of the members of the media or delegations of businesspeople who accompanied the ministers on these trips, which isalso paid for by the UK taxpayers. The number of people travelling with Cleverly was not known.

Cleverly’s office responds

“The foreign secretary’s job requires him to travel abroad to pursue UK interests. This was the most time-effective way to do this in this instance,” said a spokesperson from the foreign, commonwealth and development office, as per The Guardian. The statement added, “Value for money is taken into account in all travel decisions and costs are regularly published for transparency.”

The spokespersonalso said that the ministers use commercial flights where practical and security considerations allow.

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