It was the third day running this week Mr Burns has gone to work by train after being railroaded into not using his chauffeur-driven car.

There was an outcry after a Sunday newspaper reported it cost the taxpayer £80,000 a year.

Mr Burns, a Tory Minister of State with responsibility for ‘rail strategy’ and ‘fares policy’, denied his journeys into London from his home cost that figure.



Easy-rider: Map showing Mr Burns car journey from Chelmsford which he took while others endured the train










Rise and shine: Mr Burns leaving his Chelmsford home before boarding the packed train











Rough and tumble: Mr Burns was unable to get a seat on the train so was forced to stand up and he is pictured battling through the crowds at a busy Liverpool Street Station


Mr Burns appeared to feel the cold as he stepped out at Liverpool Street Station

He uses a Department for Transport pool car, he said, which, because of ‘flat rate’ charges which apply regardless how many journeys are made, would cost £80,000 even if he did not make the 35-mile commute in it.

But after mounting pressure from commuters and fellow politicians, he decided to ‘adjust’ his working practices and how he travels to and from work.

‘My previous arrangements were not intended as a snub to hard-pressed rail travellers,’ he added.

Mr Burns claimed he took the car from his Chelmsford home only because he was barred from working on his Red Box of official Ministerial papers on the train for security reasons, the Mail on Sunday reported.

But he was contradicted by the Cabinet Office, which said Ministers could work on papers in public as long as they ensured sensitive material could not be seen.

So where were Mr Burns’ Red Boxes were when he caught the train yesterday?

His spokesman said: ‘He has changed his habits more broadly than just how he travels. He is working later in the office so not having to travel with the boxes.’ The spokesman added that the boxes were not transported by another means but stayed in the office instead.

It was unclear if Mr Burns has bought a season ticket, but his spokesman insisted the change to his travel habits was ‘not just this week, but on-going’.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2260550/Transport-Minister-Simon-Burns-FINALLY-realises-like-train-work.html

IMAGINE HIM LEAVING HOME 6 AM TO WORK EVERY DAY AND CLOSE LATE WITHOUT ESCORT WHEN ARE WE GOIN TO HAVE THIS KIND OF LEADER IN NIGERIA THAT WILL LEARN THE PAINS OF THE MASSES BY PUTTING THEMSELVES UNDER IT