Downing Street defends Manchester stop on Burnham’s flight to Commonwealth summit

Downing Street has defended the travel arrangements for Andy Burnham’s journey to a Commonwealth summit in the Caribbean after a government-chartered aircraft flew from Stansted to Manchester to pick up the prime minister. The additional stop drew scrutiny over costs and Labour’s previous criticism of private flights taken by Rishi Sunak.

The aircraft, leased by the government for prime ministerial journeys, departed Stansted outside London at about 6am on Monday, November 2. Officials and a small group of pool reporters were aboard, but Burnham was not. He and his wife joined the flight in Manchester roughly half an hour later. After an hour on the ground, the plane departed for a refuelling stop in Canada, on its way to Antigua and Barbuda.

The Commonwealth heads of government summit is due to begin there on Tuesday. Collecting Burnham in Manchester added financial and environmental costs compared with an arrangement in which he had travelled to London before departure. The decision exposed him to criticism given Labour’s repeated challenges to Sunak over his use of aircraft for domestic journeys.

Asked about the route and the expense of the extra flight leg, Burnham’s official spokesperson said travel decisions rested on security and operational considerations, without giving further details. The spokesperson said the government would disclose the costs through its usual publication process. Pressed on whether the arrangements offered value for money, he referred back to that explanation and rejected the suggestion that Burnham had simply wanted to avoid returning to London.

According to the spokesperson, Burnham visited Scotland on Friday before travelling to Manchester that evening to work from No 10 North. His family home is in Greater Manchester, and he regularly works in the city on Fridays before spending the weekend there. Prime ministerial aircraft generally depart from Stansted, where facilities for private flights enable additional security measures.

During Sunak’s premiership, he frequently travelled by helicopter to destinations including Southampton, Dover, the West Midlands and Essex, despite rail journeys being almost as quick. After taking office, Labour cancelled the £40m helicopter contract used for those trips. Keir Starmer’s government presented the cancellation as part of its effort to reverse the Conservatives’ record in office.

Labour also challenged Sunak’s use of an RAF jet for a trip to Scotland when scheduled services were available, citing ministerial rules that permit private aircraft only when there is no alternative. On Monday, shadow Cabinet Office minister Mike Wood accused Labour of applying different standards to Burnham after promising tighter limits on private jet use.