Sam Coates you are wrong when you say "The jet will be paid for by the Department for Transport " WRONG. The tax payer pays for it.

steve tea, manchester, cheshire

The Queen has lasted long enough without one so why bother now? Maybe if minsters and Royal family memebrs were made to travel a bit more like the general public then maybe they would be a bit more in touch.

Stuart Murray, Amsterdam, Nethrlands

This decision has to be construed as total bilge, founded as it is on old fashioned class prejudice and the need to appease the left wing of the Labour Party. It follows on from the senseless decision to scrap the Royal Yacht Britannia. The Queen and the Royal Family are special, they are not like cabinet ministers, not least because they are good value for money and work at least as hard at representing the nation. The reference to environmental issues is a total red herring, and has obviously been tacked on to give this sad decision some veneer of acceptability. Mr Brown must think we are indeed simple, if he expects us swallow this load of horse feathers.

tom Moncur, Blandford Form, Dorset

Bring on the republic...

HM, London,

The queen wants a plane? Suggestion: Buy one Ma'am.

Then rent it out back to the gov as a private charter service. If it can make money for a business to do so, then the queen (with hundreds of years of breeding in how to run things - like a country say) should have no problem

Nick, Plymouth,

A deplorable decision. Brown thinks he is the Head of state, as Blair did before him.

JohnF, Peterborough,

It is ridiculous that the royal family and high ranking government officials do not have secure air transport for long range flights. Depending on civilian airlines to handle this aspect of transportation is folly and a disaster waiting to happen.

Jason, Pittsburgh, USA

Billions have been wasted on government IT projects and the goverment believes it can't justify a minsterial jet? What planet are these people on? There is cutting costs and there is stupidity.I understand reducing MPs trinkets but for official business this just shows that the politicians have forgotten the two things that they should be good at - PR and symbolism. If this lot can't do those correctly, then what can they do? As for the media shouting about the expense, I am beginning to get distinctly bored with it (the media that is)

John, Knutsford, UK

Can PM Brown guarantee the security of a chartered plane in the same way the RAF can? That's the only real question on the table.

Besides that there is the matter of image. Don't be so cheap Gordon, buy an A380 with a big Union Jack on it and give us something to brag about!

Scott Millson, Toronto, Canada

Money would be better spent on the RAF itself..The Queen could always use a Nimrod !!!.....Sorry Ma'am getting at your Government not you.

kirk, Rotherham, UK

i think it's disgusting that the Queen does not have her own plane for overseas travel. How does that make the UK look to other countries? Poor

Michelle, Bristol,

Whats wrong with the train for journeys inside the UK as well as Paris and Brussels? They should lead the way in encouraging people to take the most environmentally friendly form of transport possible.

Luke Nicolaides, London, UK

Scrap Gordon brown Ma'm - send him to the Tower !!!

Ian Payne, WALSALL,

PC brigade and spin doctors. Britain is and should be a top ten industrialized nation. We must project an image of power and confidence to other nations. The cost of these aircraft is paltry in the overall scheme of things and would have aided our reputation and image abroad. There is also another aspect. Senior ministers travelling on scheduled airlines create problems related to their security and can impact ordinary passengers.

Hamad Lone, Lomdon, England

Take £100million from the Department for International Development handouts and spend it on restoring some pride in the UK.

Angus, Sutton,

Britain is not one of the wealthiest countries on earth,
it's close to bankrupt when you take into account
Browns insane borrowing. It was wealthy when Labour came to power now as always they have stuffed things up.

Barry Holmes, Christchurch, New Zealand

Stop comparing a ministerial plane to the US Air Force One, as though they are the only country that has such a thing. Every western nation has a ministerial jet, except Britain! So do countries such as Brazil, Mexico and India. British PMs are the laughingstock of every G8 summit, when they arrive in a clapped-out plane rented for the occasion, or when it breaks down and leaves them stranded, or even worse, when they have to step off a RyanAir budget flight! Britain is one of the wealthiest countries on Earth, yet spending a bit of cash to let our reps look good overseas launches an insane backlash from the media, and the government follows suit. A ridiculous embarrassment!

Jasper Reed-Spencer, London, England