Downing Street has defended Andy Burnham's attendance at a climate change summit amid questions about value for taxpayers and his net zero goals. The Prime Minister flew to Turkey to deliver a five-minute speech to a half-empty room at COP31 before heading to Dublin for the European Political Community meeting on Thursday.
No10 insisted that flying to both destinations was “absolutely” a good use of the Prime Minister's time. When asked whether the Prime Minister thought it was worth travelling to Antalya, a No10 spokeswoman said: “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. He said that the climate crisis is not a distant threat; it is upon us all now, devastating lives and livelihoods everywhere.”
Climate Leadership and Urgency
The spokesperson added: “As the Prime Minister said in his speech this morning, climate leadership and action have become more urgent, and Britain will answer the call.” Pressed on whether that meant No10 thought it was a good use of time, she said: “Absolutely.”
When asked whether flying to Turkey and Ireland was a good use of taxpayer money and a good example to people for reaching net zero, the official said: “As I've said, the Prime Minister has been very clear that the climate crisis is no longer a distant threat and he feels that it's extremely important to meet with other leaders and address to help address the key challenges posed by climate change.”
European Political Community Meeting
“On the European Political Community meeting, as I set out, he will attend a number of meetings there, including on Ukraine, with the hope of making further progress towards a just and lasting peace there,” the official said.
The Labour leader has come under fire for his taxpayer-funded travel when it emerged a Government plane was flown from London to Manchester to pick him up on the way to a Commonwealth summit in the Caribbean last week.
Criticism Over Travel
Critics have dubbed him “Air Miles Andy” for clocking more than 22,500 air miles on taxpayer-funded overseas flights in his first 115 days as Prime Minister. He has now made six international trips since entering office in July, to show support for Ukraine, to attend the UN general assembly in the US, to sign a defence treaty in Germany and his most recent to Antigua.
