Boris Johnson's visit to Afghanistan during Heathrow vote cost over £20,000

He was mocked by MPs when he missed the vote on Heathrow's third runway
PA
Sophie Williams15 August 2018

Boris Johnson's trip to Afghanistan during the crucial Heathrow vote cost over £20,000.

Foreign Office officials refused to reveal the flight and security costs for Mr Johnson's trip to Afghanistan but said the bill for staff who accompanied him totalled £19,366.

Labour has said that the former foreign secretary should pay back the cost of the visit.

Mr Johnson was mocked by MPs after he missed the vote on a third runway at Heathrow, despite previously pledging to lie in front of bulldozers to stop the move.

He slipped out of the country the night before the vote, on a mysterious mission to one of the world's unsafe regions.

Details were held back on "security grounds."

Many people have campaigned against the airport's expansion 
PA

Mr Johnson would have been forced to quit the Government if he had gone against the expansion plans.

The Foreign Office refused to comment on how far in advance the visit had been planned.

Some £18,966 was spent on commercial flights with the rest of the cash covering visa costs, according to independent investigative website The Ferret.

Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell said that Mr Johnson should use some of the money he earns as a newspaper columnist, to cover the bill.

He said: "Boris Johnson, who once said he would lie down in front of bulldozers to stop a third runway at Heathrow, scuttled out of the country at the taxpayer's expense rather than honouring his promise to his constituents.

"Perhaps our former foreign secretary will consider using some of the money he earns insulting Muslim women with his lucrative £20,000-plus a month column to pay back the taxpayer."

Shortly after, he said he would continue to oppose the £14 billion expansion behind closed doors by lobbying colleagues inside government.

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