ATNotts said;
I know that posters on JB will be quick to rubbish such an idea - they did when it was suggested for Tony Blair - but all the worlds principal nations, and few few too many banana republics have an aircraft for the use of the heads of government / state and it really is about time the UK had the same.
Having the PM or Monarch turning up at major summits or state visits in some piece of kit chartered on the open market doesn't give the right impression of UK abroad - unless we want to give the impression of a cash strapped, insignificant island that can't afford anything better!
I don't disagree with these points but for the BBC's "source" to say that the justification is down to the A332 Voyager costing £2,000 per hour is at best, in my opinion, a significant understatement and leaves the impression of either a rather uninformed "source" or a government deliberately trying to deceive the electorate. Who is this mysterious, anonymous "source" the BBC was talking to?
The electorate deserves to know the true cost.