Boris Johnson has taken to the skies aboard “Con Air” as part of a three-nation campaign trip.
The Prime Minister landed in Teesside for the opening stop on the first full day of his General Election tour.
He will leave England for Scotland before a further stop in Northern Ireland on Thursday.
Con Air
Arriving on board the plane, Mr Johnson said hello to those travelling with him and repeatedly remarked it was “Con Air” – an apparent nickname for the Conservative campaign plane rather than a direct reference to the 1997 action movie starring Nicolas Cage.
After arriving at Teesside Airport, Mr Johnson travelled to the Tetley Tea factory in Eaglescliffe.
He drank a cup of tea and discussed with staff whether it was best to leave the tea bag in the cup, different types of tea and asked: “What about cream tea?”
On the tea he was drinking, the PM said: “I need it, the plane was freezing.”
He was later given a tour of the production line and weighed boxes of teabags.
Turbulent start
Johnson takes to the skies as the Conservatives weather a number of early hiccups.
Jacob Rees-Mogg “caused a huge amount of hurt and distress” following some “insensitive” comments on Grenfell Tower, and a number of candidates have been called out for comments they made in the past.
Francesca O’Brien wrote on Facebook that people on reality television show Benefits Street need “putting down”, while Nick Conrad once said women should keep their “knickers on” to avoid rape.
Related: Pro-Remain parties enter General Election pact in 60 constituencies
Since you are here
Since you are here, we wanted to ask for your help.
Journalism in Britain is under threat. The government is becoming increasingly authoritarian and our media is run by a handful of billionaires, most of whom reside overseas and all of them have strong political allegiances and financial motivations.
Our mission is to hold the powerful to account. It is vital that free media is allowed to exist to expose hypocrisy, corruption, wrongdoing and abuse of power. But we can't do it without you.
If you can afford to contribute a small donation to the site it will help us to continue our work in the best interests of the public. We only ask you to donate what you can afford, with an option to cancel your subscription at any point.
To donate or subscribe to The London Economic, click here.
The TLE shop is also now open, with all profits going to supporting our work.
The shop can be found here.
You can also SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER .
