Downing Street has defended Andy Burnham's travel to Turkey for the Cop31 climate summit, rejecting questions over whether flying to the event to deliver a five-minute speech represented value for money or aligned with his net-zero ambitions.
According to No 10, the Prime Minister's multi-country itinerary - which includes flying to Turkey for the UN climate conference before travelling to Ireland for a European Political Community (EPC) meeting - was "absolutely" a good use of his time.
Scrutiny of official travel
The defence follows growing scrutiny of Mr Burnham's official travel since entering office in July, with political opponents nicknaming him "Air Miles Andy". By the end of Thursday (12 November), he will have visited six countries - having previously travelled to support Ukraine, attend the UN General Assembly in the US, sign a defence treaty in Germany, and attend a Commonwealth summit in Antigua.
Speaking as the first presenter today, Mr Burnham addressed a half-empty plenary hall - with Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband and London Mayor Lord Sadiq Khan among those in the audience - to pledge a "new era" of British leadership on the green transition.
No 10 response
When asked by reporters whether travelling to Turkey to deliver a brief speech to a sparsely populated room was worthwhile, a No 10 spokeswoman pointed to the urgency of the address.
"So, obviously, the Prime Minister delivered his speech at Cop this morning, where he said we are committed to meeting our 2050 net-zero target and committed to working with all of our partners to reach theirs," the spokeswoman said. "He said that the climate crisis is not a distant threat; it is upon us all now, devastating lives and livelihoods everywhere."
Pressed on whether the trip constituted a good use of time, the spokeswoman replied: "Absolutely."
Face-to-face diplomacy
Questioned further on whether the flights to Turkey and Ireland set a good example on reaching net zero and offered value to taxpayers, the official maintained that face-to-face diplomacy remained vital.
She stated that Mr Burnham felt it was "extremely important to meet with other leaders" to tackle climate challenges, adding that his subsequent meetings in Ireland would focus on issues including securing a "just and lasting peace" in Ukraine.
Questions surrounding the Cop31 trip come just days after Downing Street faced criticism over the logistics of Mr Burnham's flight to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (Chogm) in Antigua and Barbuda last week.
Previous flight criticism
For that journey, a Government plane carrying senior officials departed from London Stansted at approximately 6am without the Prime Minister on board.
The aircraft flew to Manchester - where Mr Burnham had been based at the end of the week - to collect him and his wife, Marie-France van Heel, before stopping in Canada to refuel on its way to the Caribbean.
No 10 defended the detour by stating that security, operational requirements, and value for money for the taxpayer are all factored into decisions regarding the Prime Minister's travel arrangements. However, officials declined to comment on why Mr Burnham did not travel back to London over the weekend to depart from Stansted, and the environmental impact of the Manchester stopover did not appear to have been weighed as a factor in the decision.
