Keir Starmer: New Prime Minister branded a "hypocrite" for taking private jet to watch Euro final - after years criticising Rishi Sunak

Labour have spent years hammering Rishi Sunak and other Tory ministers for using private jets in their official government capacity and accusing them of wasting taxpayer money when commercial flights are always an option and much cheaper. In January, Labour published a post on their website that described Rishi Sunak as “out-of-touch” for using private flights. They described Sunak’s travel choice as “elitist”.

However, Sir Keir boarded a Government-chartered Airbus A-321 plane on Sunday (14 July) to watch England in the Euro final. The plane set off from Stansted at 3.30pm and arrived in Berlin around an hour and a half later.

A user posted on X: “Starmer took the private jet to watch a football game. There are dozens of flights between the UK and Germany every day. The Champagne socialist lifestyle suits him. It’s the hypocrisy I’m calling out. Labour have been saying for years that private jet use should be cut, and left wing talking heads mentioned it every week.”

The Taxpayer’s Alliance demanded that the Prime Minister begin holding himself to the same standards as his predecessor. Elliot Keck, the campaign group’s head of campaigns, said: “Taxpayers will be disappointed to see yet another politician failing to walk the walk”.

"Labour rightly hammered the last government on its frequently lax attitude towards waste and excess, yet its allowing standards to slip right off the bat. Starmer should hold himself to the standards he set for the last government - a no-nonsense attitude towards waste.”

Another user wrote on X: “He's not bothered about net zero then...”. Starmer was previously in Glasgow promoting Great British Energy - a proposed Labour body which would help the UK transition to net zero.

However, some on social media, were quick to defend the new Prime Minister. One wrote: “Firstly all the flights to Germany from the UK yesterday were fully booked. Secondly, he is the prime minister. Flying at those times meant he could represent the UK and fly back for work today, Rishi would fly 80 miles to Southampton to watch football. That’s the difference.”

While another said: “They’ve got guys shooting at presidential candidates on the other side of the pond and here you’re suggesting that a country’s leader jump on the aviation equivalent of the bus. I hate the pollution and spend as much as the next but we have to give it a bit more thought.”

A Downing Street spokesman said on Monday morning (15 July) that the flight, the cost of which is yet to be disclosed, was chosen with “value for money for taxpayers” and “ministerial time” in mind. The spokesman said: “The government is committed to always delivering value for money for taxpayers. As you know, decisions on travel are always taken with that in mind in relation to ministerial time and delivering value for money.”