Rishi Sunak stepped in to stop RAF helicopter deal he uses being scrapped

17 December 2023 , 13:00

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Rishi Sunak stepped in to prevent a helicopter contract being scrapped, it has emerged (Image: Jonathan Buckmaster)

Helicopter-loving Rishi Sunak intervened to stop a contract worth up to £40million allowing him to use "VIP" choppers being scrapped, it has emerged.

The Prime Minister - who was blasted at the weekend after diverting an RAF plane to whisk him to a far-right political festival in Italy - rejected plans to abandon the deal. The Ministry of Defence had been set to stop renting two private helicopters used by the PM, but in September Mr Sunak blocked the move.

He had previously come under fire for using choppers to make short journeys, including one to Southampton - just 75 minutes from London by train. In July former Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said the MoD would stop renting the helicopters from Northampton-based Sloane Helicopters so it could ensure "available funds are prioritised on key areas".

But in September his successor, Grant Shapps, reversed the decision - and it's now turned out this happened because Mr Sunak stepped in. The two choppers are kept at RAF Northolt, with flights run by No32 (The Royal) Squadron.

Its leader Tom Woods wrote in an in-house magazine: "In mid-September 23, the new Secretary of State for Defence, the Rt Hon Grant Shapps, reversed the decision at the request of the Prime Minister."

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This caused "frenetic activity" to keep the helicopters available, he said, while a new five-year contract is likely to be agreed next year after a contract is opened to competition. The helicopters are used by top army brass as well as the PM and senior ministers.

The five-year contract is estimated to be worth between £30million and £40million, according to Government procurement documents - an average of £8million a year. During his time in Downing Street so far, Mr Sunak has used private jets and helicopters to zip around the UK more than any other Prime Minister. In his first seven months in office he used RAF aircraft for domestic flights every eight days on average.

Last month he used a private chopper to get to Lincolnshire, where he visited a school. The aircraft took off from RAF Northolt on a journey that would have taken just an hour by train from London Kings Cross to Grantham. A return ticket would have cost around £50.

In October he flew less than 60 miles to Clacton-on-Sea, and in May he flew to Southampton in a chopper. And this weekend it emerged an RAF jet was diverted so Mr Sunak could head to a political event in Italy.

It flew to Durham on Friday afternoon and stayed overnight, before picking Mr Sunak up on Saturday morning for his flight to Rome. This would incur extra costs for overnight accommodation for the jet’s RAF crew.

Dave Burke