Rayner’s request for safari tour on work trip rejected

It’s a hard time to be in Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour government, what with poor poll ratings and dismal economic forecasts to contend with. Perhaps that’s why Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner felt she deserved a free safari tour during a work trip to Ethiopia earlier this year. But it transpires her hopes were rather quickly dashed after civil servants told her that, no, the day out would not be possible on an official visit. Awkward…

As reported by the Times, two government sources revealed to the newspaper that Starmer’s second-in-command had hoped to tie in a bit of recreational sightseeing – as part of February’s east Africa visit to meet political leaders and oversee the signing of an investment deal. Despite Rayner’s plea, one insider commented that: ‘She was told that’s not how these things worked.’ Not denying the claim, the Deputy PM’s office remarked that ‘the itinerary was agreed in advance and this was not part of it’.