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Brown grounds 'Blair Force One'
20/11/2005 14:31 - (SA)
London - Britain's finance minister Gordon Brown is blocking efforts by Prime Minister Tony Blair's office to buy a new aircraft, nicknamed "Blair Force One," for his official trips, a newspaper reported on Sunday.
Brown, the chancellor of the exchequer, made clear at a meeting last week that there would be no new funds to buy the jet and two other aircraft for ministers, according to The Sunday Times.
Ministers currently borrow aircraft from 32 Squadron, known as the Queens Flight. But the ageing fleet is unable to fly long distances and the prime minister has often had to charter commercial jets for long-haul flights.
Brown is arguing that at a time when public funds are tight, there are bigger priorities than "prestige" travel for prime ministers, despite support for the plan from the Foreign Office and Ministry of Defence (MoD), the weekly said.
Blair's plane, likely to be a jet with up to 40 seats, would be equipped with beds and communications equipment, it added.
However, "Blair Force One," a reference to the US presidential jet, "Air Force One," is not likely to take off anytime soon.
"Gordon has thrown a spanner in the works and rejected plans to spend additional money," a treasury official was quoted as saying.
"He has made clear that if this plan is to go ahead, the MoD will have to fund it out of its own budget, which is very tight. We should be proud that we are the only G8 country not to have a dedicated plane for politicians," he said.
The Group of Eight leading industrial countries includes - in addition to the United States and Britain - Italy, Germany, France, Japan, Canada and Russia.
The row comes after Brown was presented with a report, commissioned by Downing Street, on upgrading the fleet of Ministry of Defence aircraft that are provided for the royal family but shared with ministers.
Brown argued that it should be the security of the Queen "and not the prestige of ministers" that should be decisive, The Sunday Times said.
- AFP
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