David Cameron is getting his own £10m Air Force One-style prime ministerial plane
David Cameron is emulating the president of the US with his very own jet dubbed a "budget" version of Air Force One, and it comes with a £10m price tag.
The Prime Minister – and other senior ministers – will now have access to a converted RAF jet to travel privately to official engagements. The Queen and fellow members of the royal family will also have access to the plane.
"We have been looking at ways to make better use of the RAF fleet to transport senior ministers and consequently deliver savings for taxpayers," said a government spokesman," a government spokesperson told AFP.
"We have decided to adapt one of our existing Voyager aircraft so that, in addition to its primary air tanking role, it can transport ministers and it will also be available for the Royal Family to use."
Spending millions on travel has not gone down well with some people, however, amid major government cuts, particularly to tax credits.
Severely disabled people hit by up to 19 different cuts will be delighted they are paying for Cameron's £10m plane #conair
— WOWcampaign (@WOWpetition) November 19, 2015
In this week’s “We All In It Together”: Dave gets a £10m plane while George hammers the poor with tax credit cuts. pic.twitter.com/pe1U3YUj2q
— David Schneider (@davidschneider) November 19, 2015
"Blair Force One", which began trending on Twitter, was coined when former PM Tony Blair suggested a prime minesterial plane, but the plan was ultimately blocked by Gordon Brown who controlled the purse strings.
The plane will cost £10m to refit and £775,000 a year to run, the government claims.
Former deputy PM John Prescott was not impressed.
So ahead of the #spendingreview Cameron will spend £10m of taxpayers money on his own personal jet #ConAir https://t.co/2C8bG6zBo5
— John Prescott (@johnprescott) November 18, 2015
While others imagined what it would look like on board
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