Chris GraylingJack Taylor/Getty Images
- Train fares rise by an average of 3.4% across the UK.
- But the Transport secretary and his junior ministers were unavailable to defend the rises.
- Downing Street confirms that Grayling has embarked on a previously unannounced trip to the Middle East.
LONDON — The Transport Secretary Chris Grayling has been accused of going into “hiding” after a spokesperson for the prime minister confirmed he had embarked on a trip to Qatar at exactly the same time as train fairs rose above inflation across the country.
Train fares rose by an average of 3.4% across the country this morning as commuters returned to work after the new year.
However, questions were raised with Downing Street after neither Grayling or any other Transport minister appeared on broadcast interviews this morning to defend the rises.
A spokesperson for the prime minister said that Grayling would be meeting with the prime minister of Qatar and industry figures.
Asked about the timing of Grayling’s trip at a briefing with journalists on Tuesday morning, they replied: “The fare rises we have known were coming for a while and the Department for Transport has issued a full statement responding to those rises.”
Grayling is not expected to return to the UK until the end of the working week, days after passengers were first hit by the rises.
Labour accused the transport secretary of going into hiding.
“The Transport Secretary Chris Grayling has gone into hiding, unable to defend today’s 3.6% fares hike & refusing to explain the £2bn taxpayer bailout of Virgin East Coast. Passengers deserve better than this,” shadow Transport Secretary Andy McDonald tweeted.
McDonald MP was due to travel to Leeds today to talk about rail ticket prices rises. However, his trip has been cancelled due to his train breaking down.
Grayling’s job is reportedly under threat in the prime minister’s upcoming reshuffle. Grayling faced calls last week to quit from the former National Infrastructure Commission chief Lord Adonis, over his role in the bailout of Stagecoach-Virgin run East Coast line.
Asked about his position, a spokesperson for the PM said that: “Chris Grayling is working hard and doing a good job as transport secretary.”
Leave a Reply
Leave a Reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
