Rishi Sunak takes £1,000-an-hour helicopter instead of 75 minute train to photo-op

Prime minister accused of being out of touch with ordinary people

Rishi Sunak on Tuesday used a £1,000-an-hour taxpayer-funded helicopter to get to a photo-op he could have traveled to in 75 minutes by train.

The prime minister used the morning to visit Southampton in the wake of his party's local election defeat, where he had his photograph taken getting his blood pressure tested at a pharmacy.

The south coast city is connected to London by fast and frequent express trains from London Waterloo, which take an hour and 15 minutes – but the PM instead chose to travel by helicopter.