RISHI SUNAK’S government helicopter is to be grounded after Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer axed the pricey chopper contract today.

The cancellation looks to save the government £40 million and brings to an end Mr Sunak’s favourite means of getting around the country.

The Tory premier attracted criticism for using helicopters even for fairly short journeys, including to Essex and Southampton, when travelling by train would be almost as fast and considerably cheaper.

Labour sources said that helicopter usage was a “grossly wasteful” symbol of how the Tories were “totally out of touch with the problems facing the rest of the country.”

The source, cited by the BBC, added that “on top of the £22 billion black hole that the Tories were blowing in the public finances, Rishi Sunak’s priority was keeping his VIP helicopter service.

“The Conservatives left behind an unforgivable inheritance. This is just one step towards showing the British people that, with Labour, they have a government that will deliver on our promise of change, and fix the foundations of our economy.”

Downing Street will have hoped that abandoning the helicopters will help the PM sell his message of renewed austerity to the country, although any sense of self-sacrifice will be undermined by the revelations of the enormous number of gifts and freebies he has accepted from wealthy contacts before the general election.