Stuart is now due to fly back to Dubai to rejoin the talks after the Rwanda bill passed its second reading in the Commons, in what amounts to total 6,800-mile round trip.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been criticised for ordering the government’s climate minister to fly home from a crucial climate summit, just as talks reached a critical point, so that he could take part in a vote on the Rwanda plan.
In a sign of just how worried the government was about losing the vote, Graham Stuart was ordered to fly back from Dubai where he was participating in the COP28 climate summit, leading to accusations that the government had gone “AWOL” at a key time and let millions of people down.
Stuart is now due to fly back to Dubai to rejoin the talks after the Rwanda bill passed its second reading in the Commons, in what amounts to total 6,800-mile round trip.
Reacting to the news, shadow climate change secretary Ed Miliband said: “The sad truth is that, thanks to Rishi Sunak tanking Britain’s reputation on the world stage, many countries simply won’t even notice that his minister has disappeared.
“Graham Stuart flying home in the middle of critical negotiations tells you everything you need to know about this Conservative government.
“They are weak, divided and chaotic and can’t stand up and fight for lower energy bills for the British people, can’t stand up and fight for investment into our country, and they can’t stand up and fight to provide climate leadership.”
Journalist George Monbiot posted on X: “The UK’s joke climate minister @grahamstuart has left the #Cop28 talks, on the most important issue of all, to support the stupidest, cruellest and most pointless bill to be forced through Parliament in recent times. Tells you all you need to know about this fatuous government.”
Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward
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