Sunak takes RAF chopper to Dover, just over an hour away by train

Rishi Sunak has taken an RAF helicopter from London to Dover, despite the trip being just over an hour by train.

The UK prime minister once again showed his fondness for choppers on Monday, when he flew from a private helipad in London to the Kent port in an RAF AugustaWestland helicopter for a speech on small boat crossings.

It is believed he also flew back to London afterwards.

There are regular trains from three central London stations to Dover, with high-speed services from St Pancras taking just over an hour. A peak-time adult return costs as little as £48.

Sunak has repeatedly demonstrated a preference for using helicopters for official and Conservative party business, which Downing Street has justified as a necessary balance of the demands on his time and the use of public money.

The latest trip comes little over a week after Sunak used a helicopter to travel to his Yorkshire constituency, with a stopoff to visit a billionaire family who live only two miles from a large airport.

In a Conservative party-related trip on 25 May, flight records show the prime minister took off from a private heliport near parliament in London, landing about an hour later, very close to Manchester airport.

Local people said Sunak’s helicopter landed in the back garden of Bobby Arora, one of three brothers who own the B&M chain of stores, in Hale Barns, Altrincham. Arora lives next door to his brother Simon, the company’s former chief executive, who has previously donated £50,000 to the Conservatives.

Also in May, Sunak used a helicopter for an official visit to Southampton to announce a plan connected to pharmacies. If done by train, the 160-mile round trip would have taken about one hour 15 minutes each way and cost as little as £30 for a return fare.

In February, Sunak flew to London from Dorset by helicopter and returned to the south-west of England by plane later the next morning. Sunak had been at Lulworth military base in Dorset and then visited a family hub in St Austell, Cornwall. But rather than stay overnight and travel 140 miles between the engagements, Sunak flew to and then from London, a round trip of nearly 400 miles.

The prime minister has previously used private helicopters to travel from London to his constituency, costing about £16,000.

A Downing Street spokesperson said: “As always, travel plans will vary and are always decided with consideration to the best use of the prime minister’s time and in interests of the taxpayer.”