So much for going GREEN, Boris! PM took ‘unnecessary’ 50-minute ride in Tory peer’s HELICOPTER

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Boris Johnson has been savaged for taking a short helicopter flight from London to the West Midlands where he used a bike hire scheme – two weeks after pledging to ‘build back greener’.

The journey, which could have been completed by train in just two hours, was in a Sikorsky S-76C chopper registered to a company owned by Tory peer and donor Lord Bamford.

Johnson’s gas-guzzling May 5 trip – which took 50 minutes – left from north-west London and landed at Wolverhampton Halfpenny Green airport.

He then went to meet West Midlands metro mayor Andy Street in Stourbridge where they used bikes from a hire firm that calls itself ‘a sustainable way to travel’ to look round the area.

Street made sure the public knew about the ride, by tweeting a picture with the caption ‘Great to show the PM around Stourbridge by bike.’

Today the helicopter flight, which came weeks after Mr Johnson’s speech to the Leaders Summit on Climate, was heavily criticised.

Leo Murray, a co-director at the climate charity Possible, told the Guardian: ‘The prime minister’s decision to travel by helicopter and private jet for election campaigns on trips that could easily have been made by train is very troubling.

‘He either does not understand the implications of the climate targets he has signed Britain up to, or he is not serious about doing what needs to be done to meet them.

‘Imagine the positive message (travelling by train) would have sent to the British public about public transport use post-Covid. 

‘It really casts doubt on the sincerity of the recent, very welcome messages from the government about the climate crisis.’

Nadia Whittome, the Labour MP for Nottingham East and member of the environmental audit select committee, thought the journey was wrong

She said: ‘Boris Johnson taking a private helicopter from London to the West Midlands is clearly completely unnecessary.

‘Beyond the prime minister’s personal actions, it’s the government’s hypocrisy on spending and legislating to tackle the climate crisis that really concerns me.

‘Johnson has said he wants to cut taxes on domestic flights.

‘It shouldn’t be cheaper to fly in the UK than to take the train, but our overpriced, privatised rail system means that it often it is.’

Ben Bradshaw, the Labour MP for Exeter and a member of the transport select committee, said: ‘If Boris Johnson wants to convince people he is committed to protecting our environment, this is not the way to do it.’ 

Mr Johnson has promised green jobs as part of his frequently mentioned pledge to ‘level up’ deprived areas.

He also promised to boost zero-emission public transport in a 10-point plan he launched in November.

He said: ‘We were first country to pass legislation for net zero. We have the biggest offshore wind capacity of any country in the world, the Saudi Arabia of wind as I never tire of saying. We’re halfway to net zero.

‘We have carbon emissions lower than at any point since the 19th century, we’re ending support for fossil fuels overseas and doubling our international climate finance.

‘I want to leave you with the thought that we can build back better from this pandemic by building back greener.’

The Prime Minister has used a helicopter before to travel to Wolverhampton on April 19.

Back in December 2019 as he campaigned in the general election he took a private jet from Doncaster to Darlington.

During the April visit he was later spotted at The Mount Tavern pub enjoying a pint and talking to customers.

He was also taken to West Midlands Metro’s Wednesbury depot, where he chatted to workers along with West Midlands Mayor Andy Street.

During his visit, Mr Johnson sat at the controls of one of the trams and was given an overview of how to operate it.

Trams are widely seen as being good for the environment as they produce a third of emissions of the same people if they went by car. 

A Conservative party spokesman played down the flight and said it was important the Tory leader was able to go to different areas around the country.

They insisted that the government had pushed hard on green issues to make sure it had reduced carbon emissions quicker than anyone else. 

He told the Guardian: ‘It has long been the case that party leaders make visits across the country during election campaigns using a wide variety of transport.

‘Such visits are an important part of the democratic process, so politicians, including prime ministers, can visit as many places as possible within time constraints.

‘Under this Conservative government, we’ve reduced carbon emissions faster than any other G7 country, are producing a record amount of electricity from renewable sources and are a world leader in offshore wind.’