The Defence Secretary has been accused of treating the RAF like his own ‘personal Uber‘ after being picked up by a military helicopter three times in just six weeks.
Flight records show that Grant Shapps took the transport between January and February and was collected on a field near his house.
He has been criticised for getting RAF pilots to fly him around the country for engagements in Yorkshire, Manchester and Plymouth.
It raises the question as to whether Mr Shapps has broken ministerial rules.
The frontbencher allegedly got ‘Britain’s most expensive Uber’ to pick him up from his Welwyn Hatfield constituency, according to the Mirror.
Flight records show that Grant Shapps took the transport between January and February and was collected on a field near his house
The helicopter then went back to RAF Northolt in London, but briefly stopped at Elstree Aerodrome, which is around seven miles away from the Cabinet member’s home
On January 11, a GZ100 chopper flew more than 20 miles from Denham Airport to pick up Mr Shapps before taking him up to Manchester.
He then hopped back onboard and flew just 13 minutes to Preston to visit a testing facility.
The helicopter then went back to RAF Northolt in London, but briefly stopped at Elstree Aerodrome, which is around seven miles away from the Cabinet member’s home.
Jonathan Ashworth, Labour’s shadow paymaster general told the outlet: ‘We all thought Rishi Sunak was bad, but Grant Shapps seems to be turning the RAF’s VIP helicopter into Britain’s most expensive Uber.’
He then quoted the ministerial code which states that government-funded jets can only be used in a matter of urgency.
‘Mr Shapps urgently needs to provide evidence of why the time factor was critical in these three instances,’ he added.
On February 2, the newspaper reported that the helicopter picked up Mr Shapps to Plymouth.
Pilots flew 25 miles from RAF Northolt to his house, before flying back in the same direction it had come to complete the trip.
On Monday, Mr Shapps had the ‘Uber’ take him to Yorkshire for a Cabinet meeting with the Prime Minister on the ways the government can improve public transport.
He then hovered back to the capital city to address the Commons.
Mr Shapps has been criticised for getting RAF pilots to fly him around the country for engagements in Yorkshire, Manchester and Plymouth
A source said it was ‘absolutely nonsense’ to suggest that the Defence Secretary had ‘broken any rules’.
They added that Mr Shapps was ‘doing his job’ and had not gone against the code.
An MoD spokesperson said: ‘The RAF provides travel for the command functions of the MoD and where there is spare capacity, provision is also made for senior Ministers and members of the Royal Household to travel to fulfil their official duties.
‘These arrangements are long-standing and have been operated under successive governments of all political colours.
‘Any travel undertaken is in accordance with our rules and procedure as set out clearly in the Ministerial Code which is available on gov.uk’
Grant Shapps’s office has been approached for comment.
