Send Boris plane to rescue stranded Brits, say Labour

A SPECIAL RAF plane adapted for use by Boris Johnson and the Queen must be sent to pick up Britons stranded abroad, Labour demanded last night.

In a plea to Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab and Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry says it is time for the RAF to step in.

As the Foreign Office struggles to marshal thousands of UK citizens back home from as far as Peru and India, Ms Thornberry writes: ‘The British public would greatly welcome seeing the RAF playing its small but essential part in tackling the Covid- 19 crisis.’ Although accepting ‘ it remains the overwhelming responsibility of the commercial airlines’ t o bring stranded Britons back to the UK, Ms Thornberry says more could be done with our military fleet.

Her letter specifically calls on Mr Wallace and Mr Raab to deploy the country’s 15-strong Voyager fleet, currently based at RAF Brize Norton, one of which has been refitted for Government and Royal use at a cost of £10 million.

She cites the planes’ 5,200-mile range and 291 capacity as an asset that would ‘compare favourably in terms of cost and convenience’ to privately chartered planes.

Addressing the Voyager plane refitted to transport the Prime Minister and Royal Family, she says ‘on-board aeromedical facilities, including three critical care beds, may prove essential for passengers with worsening health conditions.’

Asked about the slow response in getting Britons home, a No 10 official did not rule out deploying the RAF. He said: ‘We want to try to do this by commercial means, but we don’t rule out other means in exceptional circumstances.’