Carwyn under fire for flying to Euro tie for £9k

CARWYN Jones has come under fire from Ukip after it emerged that an aircraft had been hired at a cost of more than £9,500 to take him to the Wales v England European championship match in France.

But the Welsh Government defended the expenditure, saying the First Minister needed to represent Wales at the football match and then travel on to Glasgow for a meeting of the British Irish Council.

Ukip Assembly group leader Neil Hamilton said: “Labour politicians are always attacking fat-cats with private jets. But, it’s different when they spend taxpayers’ money on jol- lies for themselves. At a time of austerity, when steel-workers face job losses and NHS waiting times are frighteningly long, it is immoral to waste £9,500 of the Welsh taxpayer’s money on flying Carwyn to a football match when he could have gone by Eurostar for £205 return.

“£9,500 would pay for three school crossing patrols for a year, yet they are being cut.”

A Welsh Government spokeswoman said: “The First Minister flew from Cardiff to Lille on Thursday to attend the Wales v England match before travelling to Glasgow later that day for a meeting with representatives from the British Irish Council.

“Following security advice, and for practical reasons, a small turbo-prop plane was used which ensured the First Minister was able to represent Wales at both events. This would not have been possible using alternative travel options.”

The Welsh Government confirmed that a six-seater turbo-prop plane was hired at a total cost of £9,550. The plane is owned and operated by a small business based in Haverfordwest.

The cost also covered the use by five people returning from the meeting of the British Irish Coun- cil. It is understood that security officials warned the Welsh Government against allowing Mr Jones to travel on the Eurostar.

A source close to the First Minister said: “This is very rare. Almost always we use scheduled flights, but on this occasion, after examining the alternatives, it just wasn’t possible.”