Andy Burnham under fire after '£20k taxpayer-funded' jet flew from Stansted to Manchester to pick up PM

Andy Burnham has come under fire after his taxpayer-funded jet flew for 29 minutes from Stansted Airport to Manchester to pick him up before his trip to the Caribbean.

The jet left Stansted Airport in Essex at around 6am this morning, with Mr Burnham and his wife Marie-France van Heel setting off for Canada to make a refuelling stop-off.

Mr Burnham, who is bracing for crunch talks with Commonwealth leaders over slavery reparations, is due to land in Antigua and Barbuda later today.

Following revelations about the Prime Minister's flight this morning, Reform UK Chief Whip Lee Anderson told GB News: "It would appear that taxpayers' money is no object for Andy Burnham.

"At a time when British people face a miserable winter of increasing energy prices, increasing inflation and increasing unemployment, this out-of-touch Prime Minister is using the taxpayer as a cash cow to fund unnecessary flights.

"This is a kick in the teeth for every struggling family in the country."

Shadow Minister Neil O'Brien added: "Labour are smashing normal people with higher and higher energy and fuel costs in order to pursue their obsession with net zero.

"But, as usual, it turns out the rules don't apply to them, and they are happy to waste loads of taxpayers' money and jet fuel so that the PM can show off and lecture."

John O'Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, also told The People's Channel: "The public are being taken for a ride by a government that seems to think money is no object.

"Thanks to the Prime Minister's Manchester obsession, taxpayers are now footing the bill for what amounts to a private jet pick-up service, rather than cheaper, more sensible alternatives.

"Burnham should stop treating taxpayers' hard-earned money as an endless pot to fund unnecessary travel arrangements and start showing some respect for those who pay the bills."

The flight is estimated to have cost taxpayers up to £20,000, given Sir Keir Starmer's same-day trip to Paris totalled £39,756 in April.

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It would have taken the Prime Minister around 90 minutes to make the 40-mile car journey from Downing Street to Stansted Airport.

However, Mr Burnham insists on spending one day a week working in Manchester at the new No10 North site.

The Makerfield MP also spends weekends at his family home on the outskirts of Wigan.

Mr Burnham spent the weekend in Manchester after working in Glasgow on Thursday and Friday, No10 has confirmed.

The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: “The Prime Minister’s travel arrangements are made on the basis of security, operational requirements, and value for money for the taxpayer.

“The Prime Minister’s travel arrangements reflect where he was carrying out official government business at the end of last week.

“As you know, he spent the day in Scotland on Friday. He returned to Manchester to work from No10 North on Friday evening. In terms of costs, travel costs will be published in the usual way.”

He added: “Decisions related to travel are made on security and operational grounds, neither of which we comment on. We’re transparent about travel costs; they’ll be published in the usual way.”

However, a peak first-class train from Manchester Airport to Stansted Airport would have cost a fraction of the price at £337.50.

The Prime Minister's short-haul flight reignited a Labour hypocrisy row after ex-Chancellor Rachel Reeves called for a "crackdown" on Tory ministers using private jets.

Housing Secretary Angela Rayner labelled Liz Truss's A321 flight to Australia a “ridiculous waste of half a million pounds”, later accusing Rishi Sunak of "jetting around the country on taxpayers' money like an A-list celeb" after the then-Prime Minister flew from Darlington to Blackpool.

Mr Burnham came under fire earlier this year after taking the VIP Airbus A321 from Stansted to Glasgow for the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games.

The plane left Scotland's largest city at 9.19am the following morning, landing in Manchester just 38 minutes later.

Ahead of his visit to the Caribbean, Mr Burnham opened the door to issuing an apology for the UK's role in the transatlantic slave trade.

Writing for The Guardian this weekend, the Prime Minister said: "Listening to calls for a formal apology on behalf of the British state will form an important part of this process, and I am open to them."

He added: "For years, those members of the Commonwealth affected by the slave trade have asked for an honest conversation about the legacies of slavery.

"By sticking our heads in the sand, we have damaged the ability of the Commonwealth to function."

Labour MPs have been pushing the Prime Minister to consider paying reparations to countries impacted by the slave trade, with the potential bill totalling an eyewatering £18trillion.

The UK already apologised for its role in the slave trade when Sir Tony Blair was Prime Minister in 2007.

King Charles will address delegates at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting tomorrow.

However, pressure is mounting on the King to take decisive action after Caribbean leaders spoke out after Mr Burnham's slavery remarks.

Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness admitted he was hoping for "meaningful talks on reparatory justice".

Barbadian leader Mia Mottley also said: “I thank Prime Minister Burnham and his Foreign Secretary, Ed Miliband, for breaking new ground and recognising that this is the right thing, and the moral thing, to do by ensuring that we move to the next stage of engagement on this difficult and emotional issue.”

But Tory leader Kemi Badenoch accused Labour of "navel-gazing", adding: "We should be honest about the whole history, not select the parts that are politically convenient today, especially given Britain's leading role in ending the transatlantic slave trade."

Taxpayers already cough up around £100million a year in overseas development aid to countries impacted by the slave trade.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: “We are committed to working with Commonwealth partners on issues facing the world, including the role of private finance in tackling global debt issues, addressing the climate crisis, and supporting economic development.”