John McDonnell MP, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, responding to reports that Boris Johnson’s trip to Afghanistan to avoid the Heathrow vote cost the taxpayer at least £20,000, said:

“Boris Johnson, who once said he would lie down in front of bulldozers to stop a third runway at Heathrow, scuttled out of the country at the taxpayer’s expense rather than honouring his promise to his constituents.

“Perhaps our former Foreign Secretary will consider using some of the money he earns insulting Muslim women with his lucrative £20,000+ a month column to pay back the taxpayer.”