Leading article: The damaging effect of ministers' junkets

THE CONTROVERSY over "junkets" - a word, like "sleaze", which seems to have been specifically invented to wound a government - will not go away. The allegation that Geoff Hoon, Minister of State in the Lord Chancellor's Department, took a pounds 7,000 transatlantic round-trip with a civil servant is one more example. This case fits into the picture the Government's detractors draw: of irresponsible ministers, jetting around and wasting taxpayers' money.

We have seen a few stories that reinforce this impression over the last few weeks, Jack Cunningham's much-publicised trips on Concorde being the most famous example. It is no wonder that voters are beginning to feel that New Labour's promise to banish such behaviour from public life is wearing thin. These are not the first examples of that party's dangerous love affair with the lifestyles of the rich and famous, but they should be the last.

Mr Blair explicitly warned his Ministers when they came to power that they should not covet the trappings of office above their opportunity to reshape Britain. It seems he has been ignored. Now he needs to regain his grip on those who are ignoring his injunction, rather than simply attempt to strangle the story by preventing "leaks" to the press. He himself has behaved with exemplary restraint, refusing to draw all of his salary and insisting that other ministers follow suit.

No one wishes Britain's representatives while abroad to arrive shabby and tired, or to appear showily puritanical in their choice of transport. If ministers are in a hurry, then they should take the fastest route, including Concorde if need be. But voters need to be assured that ministerial discretion is not abused in this matter; New Labour, emerging from its worst period in office, can ill-afford creating the impression of high- living waste.

The whole Government has been done a great deal of harm by ministerial opulence. The Lord Chancellor showed great maladroitness over the expensive refurbishment of his official chambers; Mr Cunningham's own choice of furniture seems rather extravagant for a Cabinet Office Minister. Ministers may regard their plans to pare down on bureaucratic spending by pounds 300m as more important than the "froth" of travel and furniture budgets, but they should remember that appearances can matter just as much as such "real" policies.

New Labour came to power promising a new kind of politics. It was able, with public goodwill, to survive a first wave of scandals. The Bernie Ecclestone affair, and "lobbygate", in which lobbyists were seen to be selling access to ministers, passed without a ripple in the opinion polls. Perhaps some in the Government became less cautious, as their fear of censure declined. If so, they should be chastened. If they are not, the Prime Minister should ensure their compliance with more sober standards of behaviour.