No 10 defends PM’s trip to Cop31 amid cost and net-zero questions

Downing Street has defended Andy Burnham’s attendance at the Cop31 summit on a trip across two countries amid questions about whether the journey delivered value for money and reflected his net-zero ambitions.

No 10 said flying to Turkey for the climate conference and then to Ireland for the European Political Community (EPC) meeting was “absolutely” a good use of the Prime Minister’s time.

Scrutiny of Mr Burnham’s travel has heightened after a Government plane was flown from London to Manchester to pick him up on the way to a Commonwealth summit in the Caribbean last week, earning him the nickname Air Miles Andy among opponents.

The Prime Minister has so far made four international trips since entering office in July, to show support for Ukraine, to attend the UN general assembly in the US, to sign a defence treaty in Germany and his most recent to Antigua.

By the end of Thursday he will have visited two more countries – Turkey for the UN’s Cop31 gathering, where he delivered a five-minute speech pledging a “new era” of British leadership on the green transition, and Ireland for the EPC.

He was the first speaker at the climate conference on Thursday, addressing a half-empty plenary hall at the start of the session with Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband and London Mayor Lord Sadiq Khan in the audience.

Asked whether the Prime Minister thinks it was worth travelling to Turkey to deliver a brief speech to a half-empty room, a No 10 spokeswoman said: “So, obviously, the Prime Minister delivered his speech at Cop this morning, where he said we are committed to meeting our 2050 net-zero target and committed to working with all of our partners to reach theirs.

“He said that the climate crisis is not a distant threat; it is upon us all now, devastating lives and livelihoods everywhere.

“As the Prime Minister said in his speech this morning, climate leadership and action have become more urgent, and Britain will answer the call.”

Pressed on whether that meant No 10 thought it was a good use of time, she said: “Absolutely.”

Asked whether flying to Turkey and then Ireland was a good use of taxpayer money and a good example to people for reaching net zero, the official said: “As I’ve said, the Prime Minister has been very clear that the climate crisis is no longer a distant threat and he feels that it’s extremely important to meet with other leaders and address to help address the key challenges posed by climate change.

“On the European Political Community meeting, as I set out, he will attend a number of meetings there, including on Ukraine, with the hope of making further progress towards a just and lasting peace there.”

Last week, No 10 defended flying the Prime Minister’s plane to Manchester to pick him up on the way to the Commonwealth Heads of Government (Chogm) summit in the Caribbean.

The flight took off from London Stansted at around 6am for Antigua and Barbuda carrying senior officials but without Mr Burnham on board.

He was collected from Manchester along with his wife Marie-France van Heel around half-an-hour later, where the Government plane was grounded for around an hour before setting off again via Canada for a refuelling stop.

No 10 said Mr Burnham had been based in the north at the end of last week and said security, operational reasons and value for money for the taxpayer were all considerations when deciding on how the Prime Minister travels.

Downing Street would not be drawn on why the Prime Minister could not have travelled back to London over the weekend in order to fly from Stansted.

The environmental cost of flying via Manchester does not appear to have been one of the factors considered.