Michael Gove has been branded "out of touch" for proposing that taxpayers' money should be spent on a new £60m yacht for the Queen to celebrate her Diamond Jubilee.
In a letter to cabinet colleagues, the education secretary warned that the celebration of the Queen's 60th year on the throne was in danger of being "overshadowed" by the London Olympics and suggested the government purchase her a new boat, at an estimated cost of £60m.
"I feel strongly that the diamond jubilee gives us a tremendous opportunity to recognise in a very fitting way the Queen's highly significant contribution to the life of the nation and the Commonwealth," he wrote.
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