Ministers' car use on the rise

CAR travel by ministers and officials has risen by a fifth despite the Government's high-profile battle against climate change, it was claimed today.
Whitehall's fleet of vehicles covered nearly three million miles last year, enough to travel to the moon and back six times, according to figures obtained by the Lib Dems.

Their transport spokesman Alistair Carmichael accused the Government of failing to "lead by example", adding: "Transport accounts for over a quarter of the UK's CO2. Ministers need to start leading by example."
The taxpayer will shell out around £18m for ministers' and officials' car journeys this year, and Whitehall uses more than 200 chauffeurs, he said.
A Department for Transport spokeswoman said the big rise in mileage was due to increased use of the agency's "green-style taxi service".
She said: "When departments need to use a taxi, instead of using a traditional service, they can call on a more environmentally-friendly hybrid car, saving both money and emissions.
"All new Government cars added to fleet are either hybrids or diesel engines capable of running on 5 per cent bio-diesel blend."