Rishi Sunak defends using private jet on trip to Scotland

Rishi Sunak has defended using a private jet while travelling to Scotland to unveil plans for the future of North Sea oil and gas.   

The prime minister will travel to Aberdeen on a private jet to announce new carbon capture plans and the awarding of around 100 new drilling licences.   

Sunak was asked how he will travel to Scotland during an appearance on the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland show. The prime minister said travelling by plane was the “best use of his time”.

Addressing Martin Geissler’s suggestion of hypocrisy, he said: “If you or anyone think that the answer to climate change is getting everyone to ban what they are doing to stop people going on holiday, that is absolutely the wrong approach.”

Geissler argued that the prime minister was taking a “do as I say and not as I do approach”.

Sunak pointed out that “every prime minister before me has used planes to travel around the United Kingdom”, arguing that using them over other forms of transport “because it is an efficient use of time for the person running the country”.  

“It is not about banning flying, it’s about investing in new technologies, like sustainable aviation fuel that will make flying more sustainable.”