Andy Burnham has been criticised after his official plane had to stop off in Manchester to take him to the Caribbean.
The prime minister is attending this week’s Commonwealth Heads of Government (CHOGM) summit in Antigua.
He was not on board the flight when it took off from Stansted Airport in London at 6am on Monday.
Instead, the plane landed in Manchester half an hour later, where it stayed for around an hour while the PM got on board.
Downing Street defended the detour, claiming that Burnham’s travel arrangements are determined “on the basis of security, operational requirements and value for money for the taxpayer”.
The PM’s spokesman would not be drawn on claims that the hour-long stop in Manchester will have cost taxpayers £20,000.
“The prime minister’s travel arrangements reflect where he was carrying out official government business at the end of last week.
“He spent the day in Scotland on Friday, returned to Manchester to work from Number 10 North on Friday evening.”
However, he would not say why the prime minister had decided to stay in the north west of England until Monday morning rather than travel back to London over the weekend.
When Labour was in opposition, the party regularly criticised former Tory prime minister Rishi Sunak for using his official jet instead of other forms of transport.
Shadow Cabinet Office minister Mike Wood said: “Labour promised a crackdown on private jet use.
“Yet when it comes to Air Miles Andy, it seems to be one rule for him and another for everyone else.”
Burnham was due to arrive in the Caribbean later on Monday, where he will hold talks with other leaders about calls for Britain to apologise for its role in the slave trade.
Writing in The Guardian, he said: “We are offering a structured dialogue with those affected by the transatlantic slave trade.
“Listening to calls for a formal apology on behalf of the British state will form an important part of this process and I am open to them.”
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