Boris Johnson criticised after calling for his own 'Brexit plane' to build up trade after UK leaves EU

Foreign secretary accused of backing a 'vanity project' - because 'he feels chartered aircraft are beneath him'

Boris Johnson spoke out on a trip to South America - where he danced with teachers and pupils (PA)

Boris Johnson is under fire after calling for his own “Brexit plane” to help him drum up trade around the world when the UK leaves the EU.

An existing RAF Voyager jet - which is shared by the prime minister, senior cabinet members and the royal family - “never seems to be available,” the foreign secretary protested.

The Voyager’s drab grey colours also undermined Britain’s reputation when the country needed a powerful “flagship”, Mr Johnson said.

“If there's a way of doing it that is not exorbitantly expensive then, yes, I think we probably do need something,” he told reporters while on a trip to South America.

“The taxpayers won't want us to have some luxurious new plane, but I certainly think it's striking that we don't seem to have access to such a thing at the moment.”

But the anti-Brexit Best for Britain group branded the idea a “vanity project”, saying: “Clearly he feels chartered aircraft are beneath him.”

And Emily Thornberry, the shadow foreign secretary said: “The sooner this ludicrous waste of taxpayers' money is grounded the better - and I don't just mean the jet, I mean Boris Johnson too.”

Mr Johnson spoke out on a five-day tour on commercial flights, which involved taking a variety of airlines to travel to Peru, Argentina and Chile with an entourage of officials and media.

He had to stop off in Madrid to change planes on his Air Europa service from London to Lima, adding five hours to the journey time, because the only direct flight on offer did not fit his schedule.

Nevertheless, Mr Johnson insisted it was not his own comfort he was concerned about, joking: “We are hard as nails, we Foreign Office types. We don't care about changing planes.”

The Foreign Office also has use of the Queen's Flight fleet of BAE 146 jets, one of which Mr Johnson used to fly to Moscow before Christmas.

He described the 26-seater planes as “superb, masterpieces of engineering”, but said they were coming up to 40 years old.

Mr Johnson’s call for his own plane will revive memories of Tony Blair's plans for a prime ministerial jet - nicknamed “Blair Force One” for its similarity to the US president's private airliner.

However, they were ditched by his successor in No 10, Gordon Brown, to save money. The Voyager then began its work transporting VIPs in 2016, after a £10m refit under David Cameron.

To keep costs down, the 58-seater Voyager continues to conduct air-to-air refuelling missions for the RAF when not in VIP use - and so retains its military colours.