Orkney politician Liam McArthur has taken a cheeky swipe at Tory foreign secretary Liz Truss over her private plane flight to Australia.
The senior Conservative minister sparked a row after it emerged £500,000 had been forked out for the trip down under.
Ms Truss was blasted by Labour and SNP rivals for deciding not to opt for a standard passenger flight to Australia and instead opting for a government plane.
And Scottish Lib Dem MSP Liam McArthur poked fun at her on social media.
The islands politician shared a photo from his plane journey back to Kirkwall, but was the only passenger onboard.
However, he assured Twitter followers air travel firm Loganair would not be submitting a hefty invoice for £500,000.
He wrote: “Given the controversy over @trussliz use of a private jet to get to Australia, I’ve been assured that while I was the only passenger going from Edinburgh to Kirkwall this morning, @FlyLoganair won’t be submitting an invoice for £500,000.”
‘Value for money’
Ms Truss defended her decision to take the private jet and claimed it was good “value for money”.
She said: “I used the government plane. That is why we have the government plane to enable ministers to get conduct government business, and that’s what I flew to Australia in.
“We have a government plane precisely so that government ministers can travel.
“Every government decision is based on value for money.
Given the controversy over @trussliz use of a private jet to get to Australia, I’ve been assured that while I was the only passenger going from Edinburgh to Kirkwall this morning, @FlyLoganair won’t be submitting an invoice for £500,000 pic.twitter.com/5GSOhUw6iq
— Liam McArthur MSP (@Liam4Orkney) January 28, 2022
“We have a government plane specifically so ministers like me and my role as foreign secretary can go and do the work overseas which is ultimately delivering for the British people.”
SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford accused her of wasting taxpayers’ cash during the ongoing cost of living crisis.
‘Obscene’
Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner said: “Liz Truss shows the public exactly quite how little respect this Conservative Government has for taxpayer’s money.
“It is obscene that government ministers are jet setting, yet are hiking taxes and refusing to do anything to help working families feeling the pinch.”
But Ms Truss was defended online by fellow Tory minister James Cleverly.
He wrote: “I see @trussliz is getting grief from some quarters for using the government plane, to fly with government officials, to do government business.
“Wait until they find out we own government buildings, where government officials, & government ministers also do government business!”
