Are politicians ever justified in using private jets?

As charges of hypocrisy fly over the cost of James Cleverly’s trip to Rwanda, Sean O’Grady asks if public figures should be allowed a little privilege in their transport arrangements – or whether it’s more politically astute to join the rest of us in the cheap seats

The revelation reinforces the charge that this is a government with a profligate attitude to taxpayers’ money (PA)

The home secretary, James Cleverly, spent some £165,561 last year chartering a private jet for a one-day round trip to Rwanda to sign a fresh treaty that would, supposedly, negate the UK Supreme Court’s finding of fact that Rwanda is not a safe third country for the deportation of refugees. The sudden urgent demand for new assurances about human rights from the Rwandans was, it is fair to say, politically driven, as the prime minister sees the Rwanda plan as the key “deterrent” in his struggle to “stop the boats” full of asylum seekers crossing the English Channel.

The revelation is troublesome because it reinforces the charge that this is a government with a profligate attitude to taxpayers’ money; that its ministers enjoy indulging themselves; and that the Rwanda scheme is, as Cleverly once repeatedly remarked in probate, a “bats***” crazy waste of money. Chartering a private jet is also, if anyone still cares, one of the most environmentally destructive ways to travel by air. Politically, the turbulence generated by such trips can be extremely distressing...

What’s the problem?