How hypocritical is Rishi Sunak’s use of helicopters and private jets?

Labour says the PM may have breached the ministerial code but he faces an even bigger problem in the eyes of voters, says John Rentoul

The prime minister is no stranger to using RAF jets, as he did in January for a London to Leeds journey (Downing Street)

The prime minister started the week with a bad-tempered interview with BBC Radio Scotland, whose presenter Martin Geissler asked him if he was coming to Aberdeen by private jet.

When Rishi Sunak said, “I’ll be flying as I normally would, that is the most efficient use of my time,” Geissler responded: “It’s ‘do as I say not as I do’, isn’t it?” The implication being that the prime minister, who says “of course net zero is very important to me”, ought to be setting an example by travelling by train – or at the very least by scheduled flight.

Sunak took issue with the implied charge of hypocrisy: “That question brings to life a great debate here. If you or others think that the answer to climate change is getting people to ban everything that they’re doing – to stop people going on holiday – I think that’s absolutely the wrong approach.”