Blair force one grounded

Unlike Prime Minister Patrick Manning of Trinidad and Tobago, the British leader cannot justify a private jet for government use or for the royal family. So the British government says it is scrapping plans to buy a jet plane for the prime minister and the Queen.

The plan was announced two years ago by then-prime minister Tony Blair and immediately was dubbed "Blair Force One" by journalists.

But the Department for Transport now says officials have decided Prime Minister Gordon Brown and the Royal Family should continue to use scheduled flights or charter commercial planes when they need to fly overseas.

The Blair plan had called for the government to acquire two planes - a large jet for overseas travel and a small aircraft for short-haul flights.

Transport Minister Jim Fitzpatrick says the government would lease a small plane for official travel within Britain. Brown has a reputation for frugality and has taken steps to distance himself from the more flamboyant style of his predecessor.

In a statement to legislators, Fitzpatrick said there had been "substantial increases in the cost of buying and operating commercial aircraft" since the idea was raised in 2006. He said the
new plan would be a better value and would cut emissions of carbon dioxide from official travel by about 10 per cent.

Brown uses chartered British Airways jets or military planes for most official business. Members of the Royal Family also have travelled BA, as well as on privately chartered planes.

Prince Charles and his wife recently went to Trinidad and Tobago on a British Airways commercial flight.