Trip by ‘Never Here Keir’ Starmer to see Lionesses play in Euros closing in Switzerland value taxpayers £60,000, new figures present
Sir Keir Starmer‘s jaunt to watch the Lionesses retain the Euros trophy cost taxpayers £60,000.
The football-mad Prime Minister jetted off to Switzerland in July when the England women’s team reached the final of the UEFA European Women’s Championship again.
Newly published Government records reveal he was accompanied by his wife Lady Starmer as well as 10 officials from Downing Street.
And their one-night trip from London to Zurich cost a total of £60,130 because they flew on the Government’s own plane rather than on a commercial flight.
It will add to the criticism of the PM, dubbed ‘Never Here Keir’, who has now taken more than 35 overseas trips in less than 18 months.
And it comes even though Labour vowed to crack down on ministerial flights before the election.
Shadow Cabinet Office minister Mike Wood said: ‘Perhaps it’s because of the Prime Minister’s unpopularity that he seeks to find relevance so far afield.
‘While he’s rarely seen on home soil, taxpayers are being asked to foot a £60,000 bill for a one-night football trip on the Government jet. What’s worse, his Labour previously promised they would save hardworking taxpayers millions on their use.
Sir Keir Starmer and his wife Lady Starmer celebrate as the Lionesses win the Euros final
The victorious England women’s football team after the match watched by the Prime Minister
‘At a time when families are tightening their belts, this kind of jet-setting looks completely out of touch and reinforces why people are switching off from him. It is time for Labour to get a grip on their spending and on their governance.’
But a No 10 spokesman insisted: ‘This was to cheer the Lionesses on in the final of the Euros.
‘It was a very important moment for the nation – their victory was not only a remarkable sporting achievement, but an inspiration for young people across the country.
‘It was right the PM was there to watch this historic win.’
Travel data published by the Cabinet Office on Tuesday also showed that Sir Keir’s last-minute dash to Washington DC for a ‘multilateral meeting on Ukraine’ cost British taxpayers £169,412.
The following month David Lammy travelled by ‘scheduled flight’ costing £15,027 to the annual United Nations summit in New York ‘on behalf of the PM’.
Yet his successor as Foreign Secretary, Yvette Cooper, took the Government plane to the same event at a cost of £164,476.
It is understood that Mr Lammy had to return to London for work while the Government plane was delayed by a technical fault.
