T The plane - which could also be used by Prime Minister Gordon Brown and other senior parliamentary officials - would be paid for by the government under plans proposed in the Gershon review into Government efficiency and spending.
  Despite royal residence Buckingham Palace having a backlog of £32 million worth of repairs, plans for the £10 million aircraft are pressing ahead. The plane - which could also be used by Prime Minister Gordon Brown and other senior parliamentary officials - would be paid for by the government under plans proposed in the Gershon review into Government efficiency and spending. The news came just days after the publication of the annual report into the cost of the monarchy, which last year was £40 million. The queen requested an increase of at least £4million of the £15 million grant she is given for upkeep of Buckingham Palace, but this was turned down. The grant, which is given by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport and originally set in the 90s, was frozen for another three years. A source claimed the money had all gone to the 2012 Olympics, saying, "We are going to carry on trying persuade the DCMS. But it is the Olympics. A number of people, including us, have suffered from it. I am not convinced they listen carefully to our arguments." TAGS: Europe  Queen Elizabeth
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
