A Tory bigwig who took a 400 mile helicopter trip boasted about his party’s green credentials.
James Cleverly told how the Conservatives care for the environment then boarded the aircraft.
The former party co-chairman flew 200 miles from the rally in Guildford, Surrey, to another event in Montgomeryshire in Wales then another 200 miles back to London.
Campaigners have blasted the carbon footprint caused by the Braintree MP’s £4,800 jaunt, paid for by property giants Gallagher Developments Ltd.
A Guildford event guest tweeted: “Great to hear James Cleverly emphasise Conservatives’ proud record of caring for environment, fighting poverty, standing up for human and animal rights.”
It said they Tories need to “spend more time talking about these achievements”. But Labour’s shadow environment secretary Luke Pollard did not agree. He said: “Cleverly is carrying on as if the climate crisis did not exist.
“The UK is hosting a global conference on carbon reduction this year but ministers have got their heads stuck in the sand over the scale of the issue.
“We need to reduce aviation emissions as part of a wider green industrial revolution.” The round trip may have emitted up to 2.5 tons of carbon dioxide. In a car it would have been 0.2 of a ton.
Greenpeace UK’s Graham Thompson said: “Helicopters are amazing machines that can take you to places almost no other form of transport can reach.
“But they’re very high-carbon. If you’re going to a location which is already served by trains, buses, coaches, taxis, bicycles and other less polluting forms of transport, please, leave the chopper at home.”
Meanwhile Tories in Wrexham, near Montgomeryshire, marked the party’s election win with a cardboard cut-out of Boris Johnson.
Mr Cleverly did not comment.
