ROYAL FAMILY SPENDING A FORTUNEIN TAXPAYERS MONEY FOR PRIVATE TRAVEL
WHY DO THE BRITISH GO ON TAKING IT?
By David Icke
ROYAL FAMILY SPENDING A FORTUNE
The Royal Family could be forced to pay for some of their flights after it emerged that tens of thousands of pounds of taxpayers' money was spent flying between palaces.
MPs are said to considering the move after a Buckingham Palace budget report revealed that Prince Charles spent £25,000 hiring a RAF jet to take him from Balmoral to Sandringham in January.
And weeks earlier he used another air force plane to fly him from London to Balmoral at a cost of £18,400.
The prince also spent £13,100 on helicopters on two trips between his Gloucestershire home Highgrove and London.
The annual budget report by the Palace released yesterday showed an £3 million drop in the overall cost of the Royal Family on the taxpayer.
But while MPs welcomed the economies made by the monarchy, they warned the line between official and private trips needed to be redrawn.
Royal travel is paid for by the taxpayers but a loophole means trips between palaces is considered `official business' even if there are no public engagements involved.
The rules are set down in a memorandum of understanding between the Palace and the Government
Labour MP Alan Williams, a senior member of the Public Accounts Committee said his committee would be looking carefully at whether the travel rules needed to changed.
David Icke
