The Prime Minister has been accused of having already “clocked off” from his job
Boris Johnson skipped a vital COBRA meeting to take a spin in an RAF fighter jet, it has been revealed as the UK braces for its first-ever red extreme heat warning.
The Prime Minister shot a selfie video from a Typhoon fighter jet on Thursday, which he described as having taken off from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire like a “vertical firecracker”.
Talking to delegates at the Farnborough International Airshow on Monday, he said he was handed the controls after taking off from the airbase.
“So I pushed the joystick right over to the right and we did an aileron roll, and I pulled the joystick right back and we did a fantastic loop the loop, and then I did a more complicated thing called a barrel roll and I pushed the stick up and right a bit,” he said.
Johnson added that they then “started to pull a few Gs” before he apparently lost consciousness and entered a dream about wind farms “harvesting the drained prairies of the North Sea”.
“This reverie must have gone on for quite a while because then my colleague said ‘I’m taking back control now’, and we headed happily home,” he continued.
The prime minister has been given a demonstration flight in a Typhoon fighter jet.
While visiting RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire, Boris Johnson was also given a tour of the base.https://t.co/7tjC6UkQ43 pic.twitter.com/xHmT9WuGWK
— Sky News (@SkyNews) July 18, 2022
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer accused the Government of failing to focus on the heatwave, as the Tories fight a bitter leadership contest.
“For many people it’s going to be a real struggle today and tomorrow in the heat, and they’re seeing a Prime Minister who’s basically checked out, so he’s not really doing anything,” he told reporters during a visit to a central London bank.
“You’ve got a Cabinet that is completely distracted with the circus of a leadership race.”
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has also been critical of Johnson, saying he should resign immediately rather than enjoy a “joyride” on a fighter jet and “go on a jolly”.
“The Met Office, for the first time ever, have issued a level 4 red alert warning, the Chief Medical Officer is advising everybody to be careful as a consequence of this extreme weather, the Prime Minister is hosting a lavish party at Chequers and obviously going on a joyride on a Typhoon plane,” the Labour politician said.
Related links
- Aussie living in London delivers helpful advice on how Brits can beat the heat
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- Here’s why Brits struggle with heat at home but not abroad
