Tony Blair, who was the United Kingdom's Prime Minister from 1997 to 2007, was reportedly criticized and called out since then for his flights within and outside the country. The reason being is that he was said to use The Queen's Flight more than the royals during his time serving the government.
It is worth noting that members of the British Royal Family always travel around the globe. The same is also true for the British government, especially the Prime Minister and other officials for their business transactions outside the country. This is why there are official flights and jets that are available for such uses.
However, Tony Blair has been called into question after the Freedom of Information released a "comprehensive" report about his travels before resigning from his position. As revealed, he, along with his ministers, allegedly used The Queen's Flight for over 677 times running up a total bill of £1.2 Million of taxpayer's money.
According to Independent UK, the accusations made toward the former Prime Minister, Tony Blair, as well as to Gordon Brown and other "ministerial colleagues," were "defended" by Downing Street. Despite the fact that using these jets have become a huge contributing factor to global warming, it was said that these government officials used the jets for "security reasons."
While the defense claims made about the issue centered on the "green image" presentation of the government officials, the reported "comprehensive" data released also showed that Toni Blair and company used The Queen's Flight even on short trips. Hence, the "private taxi."
As stated in the data, Gordon Brown repeatedly used the jets for his short trips and stops to Brussels. The Food and Rural Affairs Secretary, Margaret Beckett was said to use the flights for her home travels to the East Midlands. As for the former Prime Minister, Tony Blair, it was reported that his flights also included his holiday vacation trips.
In a similar report by Express UK, the number of the government officials' trips was in huge contrast with the Queen's. This is because Queen Elizabeth II only used one of the jets "seven times" between 2004 and 2005.
It was also added by the Shadow Transport Secretary, Chris Grayling that the general public will be "astonished" at the way these ministers used The Queen's Flight as their own "private taxi service."
Today, it is not yet clear, though, whether the incumbent Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been using the jets maintained for the Royal Family or not. Even so, previous reports stated that he would use it if it not for the "exorbitant costs."
