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Boris Johnson foreign trip during Heathrow vote cost taxpayer £20,000, documents reveal

Johnson has defended flying to Afghanistan to meet Hekmat Khalil Karzai and missing the crucial Heathrow expansion vote: PA
Johnson has defended flying to Afghanistan to meet Hekmat Khalil Karzai and missing the crucial Heathrow expansion vote: PA

Boris Johnson’s visit to Afghanistan during a crucial vote on expanding Heathrow airport cost taxpayers at least £20,000, according to newly released documents from the Foreign Office.

It comes after the former foreign secretary faced ridicule before the parliamentary recess for missing the key government vote after previously vowing to lie down in front of bulldozers to prevent the go-ahead of a third runway.

Releasing details of the trip after a freedom of information request from the Scottish website the Ferret, the Foreign Office said the the cost for the three members of staff who accompanied Mr Johnson totalled £19,366.

But the department refused to disclose the details of flight and security costs of Mr Johnson himself, saying the information would be published in due course as part of transparency data, meaning the cost of the trip is likely much higher.

Shadow chancellor John McDonnell said the former foreign secretary should consider using his earnings from his Daily Telegraph column to pay back the cost of the visit.

The nine-hour impromptu visit allowed Mr Johnson to miss the crucial vote on expanding Heathrow airport instead of resigning from his position to vote against the government.

At the time Mr Johnson said his “resignation would have achieved nothing”, but stood aside from his cabinet role just two weeks later over Theresa May’s Chequers blueprint for Brexit.

Mr McDonnell said: “Boris Johnson, who once said he would lie down in front of bulldozers to stop a third runway at Heathrow, scuttled out of the country at the taxpayer’s expense rather than honouring his promise to his constituents.

“Perhaps our former foreign secretary will consider using some of the money he earns insulting Muslim women with his lucrative £20,000-plus a month column to pay back the taxpayer.”

The revelation over the cost of the visit comes amid reports that Mr Johnson is planning a comeback on the fringes of the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham next month.

According to The Sun newspaper, the former foreign secretary will lead a pro-Brexit push and will address at least one fringe event as the prime minister attempts to unite the party behind her plan at a crucial moment in the negotiations.

A friend of Mr Johnson told the newspaper: “Boris has always been the biggest draw. He will make the fringe meeting look like the conference hall – and the conference hall look like a fringe meeting.“

The Independent has contacted the Foreign Office for comment.