£6,000 bill to fly stranded Lord Mayor home from China in business class

The Lord Mayor, John Galvin, and a council official were visiting the Far East to promote the city and attend a graduation ceremony for York University in Beijing when worldwide air travel was plunged into chaos.

They were warned they would have to remain in China until this Saturday when the first economy flights become available, but managed to secure two business class tickets, each costing 2,852, to fly back in to Manchester on Saturday, April 24.

However, the cost of the flights only emerged yesterday and political opponents have questioned whether York Council, which is attempting to cut spending by 15m in three years, should be spending thousands on business class fares.

Deputy Lord Mayor Brian Watson, himself a former Lord Mayor and Labour councillor, said: "I would have thought it would have been cheaper to keep the Lord Mayor and the council officer out in China for a fortnight until the economy seats became available, rather than flying them home business class.

"These sort of costs all add up at a time when the council is attempting to save millions of pounds. It really does send out the wrong message."

However, Coun Galvin, a Conservative, yesterday accused his political rivals of a "disgraceful" attack.

He said: "I find it quite ridiculous to suggest that the Lord Mayor of York and a council officer should be kept in China for two weeks before we could catch an economy flight home. It is disgraceful that a previous Lord Mayor and the Labour group have stooped to this level."

York Council confirmed that chief executive Kersten England had authorised the purchase of the business class tickets, although the cost of the China trip, including the two original 600 return fares, had been met by a range of organisations.

A spokeswoman added that the Lord Mayor would have missed a number of important civic duties, including his role as York's official returning officer in tomorrow's General Election.