Labour has cancelled Rishi Sunak’s £40m VIP helicopter contract, according to reports.
As first reported by the Guardian and The Sun, PM Keir Starmer and his defence secretary John Healey have dropped the “grossly wasteful” service.
But former Tory defence secretary Ben Wallace later insisted he had cancelled it over a year ago.
The current helicopter deal was set to end this year and another five-year contract was put out to tender, but Heaney has already scrapped it in one of his first major acts as the new defence secretary.
Starmer’s official spokesperson said: “The decision to not renew the tender process for that contract has been taken to ensure that the government is getting value for money for taxpayers.”
Senior Tory ministers used the helicopters to get around the country quickly.
When the Ministry of Defence tried to scrap two Augusta Westland helicopters last December – so the funding could be re-directed to “key areas” – then-PM Sunak allegedly intervened and chose to keep them.
His decision was surprising at the time, considering the intense public scrutiny he faced for consistently choosing expensive transport methods for short-haul journeys.
For example, Sunak once used the helicopter once to go to Southampton, to make an announcement about the NHS – which would have taken an hour and a half by train and cost £30 for a return ticket.
Former Tory minister Grant Shapps also used the helicopters to collect him from his home three times in six weeks.
As Labour look to differentiate themselves from the 14 years “of rot” under the Tories, new senior ministers will now use government-owned vehicles like RAF choppers when strictly required for operational reasons.
According to the newspapers, a Labour 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.
“Our new government is putting politics back in the service of working people and getting a grip of the public finances.”
They added: “It tells you everything that, on top of the £22bn black hole that the Tories were blowing in the public finances, Rishi Sunak’s priority was keeping his VIP helicopter service.”
Starmer has also vowed to reform the government in a speech on Tuesday, promising there would be “no more politics of performance, papering over the cracks, or division and distraction.”
