Downing Street today revealed proposals to lease two aircraft for the dedicated use of the Prime Minister, the Queen and senior ministers.
The two jets - a Boeing 737 for long-haul flights and a smaller model, as yet undetermined, for domestic travel - will replace the Queens' Flight, an ageing RAF squadron used for VIP trips.
Senior sources inside No 10 attempted to dodge the criticism which greeted the announcement by insisting that the extra cost - around £1.5 million more than the present £9.5 million spent on air travel - will be borne by various Whitehall departments and the Royal Family.
The aircraft will not be bought outright but taken on permanent lease. It was also stressed that the planes would be second-hand.
The senior No 10 source said that the existing system of leasing aircraft was "inefficient, becoming increasingly costly and not very secure". There is also a feeling within Cabinet that the lack of a dedicated corporate jet is turning Britain into "an international laughing stock".
The prospect of a US-style Air Force One, however, has been a source of controversy for years, playing upon Tony Blair's perceived presidential-style of leadership.
Last month, the Prime Minister was accused of treating the existing Royal Flight - an ageing fleet of RAF planes - like "personal taxis" when it was revealed that he used the aircraft more than 60 times a year, although he has now stopped using them for family holidays. By contrast, the Queen calls upon the fleet only about eight times a year.
Mr Blair arrived in Brussels recently in a chartered aircraft bearing Austrian livery because it was the only aircraft available. US presidents have had their own jet since 1944 and President Bush has two specially-designed Boeing 747-200Bs.
Although the aircraft will inevitably be dubbed Blair Force One, they will not come into service until late 2007, by which time it is widely believed that the Prime Minister will have made way for his successor.
The source said: "It’s not at all good to see leading British politicians, including the Prime Minister, going to foreign events in planes hired from foreign countries. It’s inefficient, it’s insecure and the cost of the present system rises all the time."
The insider added: "We are going to lease two aircraft, one large, one small and the leasing will cost about £1.5 million more than the current cost is, but over time there will be savings."
The permanent lease - expected to be officially confirmed as part of the Gershon review of Government expenditure - will actually cost £12.3 million, compared to the current £9.5 million but No 10 sources insisted savings will bring the real net difference down to £1.5 million.
He added: "This is for his successor, but even more so for the Queen. This is jointly for the Queen and the Prime Minister and other ministers and as always the Queen has first choice."
Downing Street insiders say that Cabinet ministers opposed to a dedicated jet were persuaded after a plane chartered to fly the Prime Minister back from South Africa - a 36-year-old DC-8 - broke down on the runway in February, causing him to miss a key Commons vote on identity cards.
No 10 sources acknowledge, however, that it was probably only a departing Prime Minister who could have made the decision, knowing it was bound to attract controversy.
Sir Menzies Campbell, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, said: "The real question is whether these aircraft represent good value for the British taxpayer.
"At the same time, we are entitled to ask what the Prime Minister intends to do to reduce the environmental impact of his travel. How often does he use scheduled services when it would be convenient to do so?"
Chris Grayling, the Shadow Transport Secretary, said: "It sends totally the wrong message for ministers to be spending millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money on two new, official planes at a time when jobs are being cut in the NHS.
"This reinforces the impression of a Government which is out of touch with the real world, and is too concerned with the trappings of office rather than getting on with the job."
