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Private helicopter service favoured by Rishi Sunak being scrapped by Labour to save taxpayers £40m
Mr Sunak faced criticism as PM for using helicopters frequently
THE private helicopter service favoured by Rishi Sunak is being scrapped by Labour to save taxpayers £40million, The Sun can reveal.
New Defence Secretary John Healey pulled the plug on the “grossly wasteful” chopper contract used to whisk senior ministers around the country.
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As PM, Mr Sunak reversed an initial decision in 2023 to stop leasing the two Augusta Westland helicopters despite facing flak for making expensive short-haul flights.
But as one of his first acts at the MOD, Mr Healey has decided not to renew the £40million contract.
A government source said: “The Tories' VIP helicopter service became a symbol of their government: grossly wasteful, head in the clouds, and totally out of touch with the problems facing the rest of the country.
“Given the sacrifices the British people will have to make as a result of the last government, it's only right that this service is brought to an end.
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“Our new government is putting politics back in the service of working people and getting a grip of the public finances.”
The existing deal with firm Sloane Helicopters ends this year, and another five-year contract had been put out to tender which Mr Healey has now canned.
Instead senior ministers like Sir Keir Starmer will use government-owned vehicles - like RAF choppers - only when strictly necessary for operational reasons.
Mr Sunak faced criticism as PM for using helicopters frequently, including a dash to Southampton which would have taken little over an hour by train.
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His then Defence Secretary Grant Shapps was also accused of using them as a “taxi service” after being picked up and dropped off at his constituency home.
Under the current deal the RAF leases an Agusta Westland chopper based at Northolt that is painted in official military livery.
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When that is unavailable Sloane Helicopters are contracted to provide another one from their own fleet, an all-black aircraft which Mr Sunak was snapped boarding.
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