Rishi took helicopter from Dorset to London then flew to Cornwall hours later

Rishi Sunak has repeatedly been accused of wasting taxpayer money on private flights around the country (Picture: PA)

Rishi Sunak has faced criticism for taking a private flight from London to Cornwall – despite attending a press conference in the south west just a day before.

Downing Street confirmed the Prime Minister and his wife, Akshata Murty, used a plane to travel to a family hub in St Austell at 9am on Thursday morning.

But the PM had already been in the area the previous day, attending a joint press conference with  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at Lulworth Camp in Dorset.

The pair met to discuss Ukrainian armed forces personnel being trained in Britain, at an event which continued until past 6pm.

Lulworth Camp is approximately a three-hour drive from St Austell.

But No 10 said Mr Sunak had opted not to stay in the south-west of England overnight, instead travelling by helicopter back to London.

It is believed the PM returned to Downing Street in order to attend a series of late-night meetings.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty used a plane instead of a train (Picture: PA)

When asked about how Mr Sunak travelled to Cornwall, his spokesman said: ‘He flew down this morning. I can’t say how he is getting back.’

The incident is the latest in a series of travel gaffes made by Mr Sunak which has resulted in accusations of hypocrisy over reducing the UK’s carbon emissions.

Last month, he took a 28-minute flight across England to jet from Blackpool to Darlington – despite having already taken a 41-minute trip from London to the Lancashire resort town earlier that morning.

Labour accused Mr Sunak of ‘jetting around the country on taxpayers’ money like an A-list celeb’ and making a ‘mockery’ of his environmental strategy.

Prior to that, he used a 14-seater RAF plane to launch two new freeports in Scotland.

On January 9, he took a taxpayer-funded, 48-minute flight to Leeds for a social care announcement.

He also faced embarrassment after being spotted not wearing a seatbelt in the back seat of his luxury car.

The PM was fined £100 by the Met Police for the misdeed and has apologised.

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