Argentine president's secret deal with BRITISH company to provide luxury jet as her own plane is grounded over debt fears



President Cristina Kirchner will spend £622,000 on a Bombardier Global Express jet from company Chapman Freeborn



The £30million luxury plane has a stateroom with a bed, wi-fi and staff



Her own Boeing 757 has grounded over fears it will be confiscated as part of Argentina's debt row

Country defaulted in 2001 with record $95billion debt

Argentina's naval flagship was seized in October as it docked in Ghana

President has demanded Britain negotiate the sovereignty of the Falklands



Flying British: Argentina's President Cristina Kirchner has decided to hire a luxury jet from Chapman Freeborn

Just days after her latest attack on British sovereignty of the Falklands, Argentina's President Cristina Kirchner has been forced to ground her luxury jet over fears it will be seized as part of a debt row - and hire another from a British firm.



Mrs Kirchner will spend £622,000 on a Bombardier Global Express jet from charter company Chapman Freeborn for her upcoming tour of Asia.

Valued at £30million, the luxury plane has a stateroom with a bed, satellite, wi-fi and staff to serve drinks.



Her own Boeing 757, codenamed Tango 1 and valued at £40million, has been grounded for 'technical reasons', according to officials.

But sources said there were real concerns the jet could be confiscated as it lands on foreign soil.



In October, the A.R.A. Libertad, the Argentinian naval flagship which is valued at £10million, was seized after New York billionaire Paul Singer obtained a court order in Ghana.



Singer's Elliot Management Corp owns $1.6billion of Argentine debt, a drop in the ocean of the country's record $95 billion default from 2001.



The decision to hire a Bombardier is likely to cause embarrassment for the president, whose government has called for a boycott of British business.

And only last week, Mrs Kirchner sparked outrage when in an open letter to Prime Minister David Cameron she demanded Britain negotiate the sovereignty of the Falklands.

In response, The Sun published a letter to the 59-year-old leader in Argentina's main English language Buenos Aires Herald, which pointed out Britain had sovereignty there before Argentina existed.

The letter stated: ' British sovereignty over the Falkland Islands dates back to 1765, before the Republic of Argentina even existed.

'In the name of our millions of readers, HANDS OFF!'

It added: ' Until the people of the Falkland Islands choose to become Argentinian, they remain resolutely British.'

Luxury in the skies: The Bombardier Global Express jet boasts 13 seats and a stateroom with a bed

The letter prompted some angry scenes in the South American capital, with protesters burning British flags and copies of the newspaper in the street.

Meanwhile Mr Cameron has insisted the islanders should be granted the right to self-determination under the UN.



He said: ‘They’re holding a referendum this year and I hope the president of Argentina will listen to that referendum and recognise it is for the Falkland Islanders to choose their future.’

At risk: Sources fear the presidential plane, Tango 1, will be confiscated on a tour of Asia