RACHEL Reeves last night defended flying business class to the US – saying the bill was settled by a mystery Labour donor.
The Shadow Chancellor had been accused of hypocrisy for taking the posh seat while attacking Rishi Sunak and the Government for luxury travel.
Rachel Reeves flew business class to the US
She rapidly deleted a tweet showing she was sitting in seat 3K on her flight to the United States after a backlash.
But defending her expensive tastes, she told HOAR: “I’m here for three days. It’s the only long-haul flight I’ve taken as shadow Chancellor. I’ve got a very packed schedule while I’m here.”
And she added: “No taxpayer money was used to fund that trip.
“To operate on the level I want to operate at I think it was appropriate to ask a donor to fund this trip so we can do it in a way that we need to and want to.”
The Prime Minister has come under fire for his “A-List lifestyle” after taking short plane and helicopter rides when travelling around the UK.
Mr Sunak was blasted for a journey in an RAF jet to Blackpool for a 230-mile journey to promote his levelling up policy earlier this year.
He also came under fire for a taxpayer funded helicopter trip to Southampton with critics saying he could have got a £30 return rail fare to visit a pharmacy.
