Sunak reverses scrapping of contract that provides him and senior Ministers with helicopter travel

The Prime Minister has stepped in to reverse the scrapping of the contract which provides helicopter travel for him and other senior Ministers.

It was expected that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) would stop the £40 million helicopter rental contract, as it was confirmed they wanted to ensured there was “available funds are prioritised on key areas.”

The then Defence Secretary Ben Wallace took the decision to scrap the rental contract, but according to the Sunday Times Grant Shapps reversed this decision when he replaced Wallace as the new Defence Secretary.

Tom Woods wrote in the RAF in-house magazine Northolt Approac, “In Jul 23 the previous SofS for Defence, The Rt Hon Ben Wallace, announced the termination of the RotaryWing Command Support Air Transport (RW CSAT) capability which would cease operating on 30 Sep 23.

“However, in mid-September 23, the new SofS Defence, The Rt Hon Grant Shapps, reversed the decision at the request of the Prime Minister.

“There was frenetic activity… to rapidly ensure all the key elements required to allow A109 to continue service were in place.”

A Government spokesman said, “All ministerial and senior defence official travel is undertaken using efficient and cost-effective travel arrangements.

“This contract was extended primarily in order to provide travel for the command functions of the Ministry of Defence.

“As a whole, domestic flights within the United Kingdom allow ministers to visit more parts of the United Kingdom in the time available, particularly areas further away from London, and reduce the need for overnight accommodation for ministers and accompanying staff.

“Security considerations are also taken into account.”