Boris Johnson has travelled further than the circumference of the Earth to escape tough questions just in the last decade, according to Labour’s new findings.
The opposition party crunched the numbers behind the prime minister’s absences during key political moments since 2011 and came up with the staggering conclusion he had travelled a total of 26,529 miles to dodge awkward questions.
The world’s circumference is approximately 24,901 miles.
The prime minister is already under fire for refusing to face the Commons on Monday when MPs were debating the Conservatives’ attempts to overhaul the independent MPs’ watchdog.
Johnson claimed he had a prior commitment visiting a hospital in the north-east of England and that his train would not pull into London in time for the 4.30pm debate.
His critics have been quick to point out how, only last week, he used a private jet to travel from Glasgow to London just to attend a private dinner with his friend.
Still, this hospital visit on Monday amounts to 568 miles, to Newcastle and back.
When the UK was gripped by supply chain issues causing by the HGV driver shortage, the prime minister went on holiday to Costa del Sol – a 2,103 return trip.
The camping holiday he embarked upon during last year’s A-level drama – as the pandemic meant the regular university admission process went awry – saw the prime minister travel to Aberdeen and back for a 1,098 mile trip.
During the Iranian crisis last year when tensions rose between the US and the Middle Eastern country, Johnson decided to travel from London to St Vincent and Grenadines and back, a total of 8,550 miles.
When he was foreign secretary, he even avoided Heathrow’s third runway vote by jetting off to Kabul in 2018 – this was a 7,102 mile trip.
For the London riots in 2011, when Johnson was mayor of the capital city, he escaped to Toronto in Canada – another 7,108 mile return journey.
This is just the latest batch of criticism over the prime minister’s leadership skills this week – even rightwing newspapers such as the Daily Express and the Daily Mail have turned their front pages against him.
Johnson’s approval ratings have now slumped to a record low, according to a new Opinium poll for the Observer.