Piers Morgan takes dig at Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s private jet row by tweeting a photo of himself in economy on a flight to Nice
PIERS Morgan has made another public dig at Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s private jet use by tweeting a photo of him on an economy flight.
The outspoken TV host, 54, shared a shot of himself sat on a British Airways flight to Nice – just days after the royal couple took a 12-seat luxury Cessna jet for the same trip.
He tweeted today saying: “Memo to ‘eco-warriors’ Meghan and Harry: this is what Economy to Nice looks like. Try it some time. @British_Airways #ManOfThePeople.”
In the photo he is sat in a cramped-looking seat reading a magazine while next to a passenger in an Arsenal shirt.
It comes as Sir Elton John defended the couple after pictures of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex boarding a private jet with son Archie Harrison in the South of France emerged.
Begging for fair coverage, Elton, who provided the jet free of charge, said: “After a hectic year continuing their hard work and dedication to charity, David and I wanted the young family to have a private holiday inside the safety and tranquillity of our home.
“To maintain a high level of much-needed protection, we provided them with a private jet flight.
“To support Prince Harry’s commitment to the environment, we ensured their flight was carbon neutral, by making the appropriate contribution to Carbon Footprint.”
It was their fourth flight in just 11 days, and the jet would have generated an estimated seven times more emissions per person than commercial flights.
The snaps of the Duke and Duchess, who had been enjoying a summer holiday at Sir Elton’s palatial £15million pad, were taken as they returned to England at 2.30pm on Saturday.
Meghan, 38, and husband Harry, 34, have come under heavy criticism and been accused of hypocrisy after recently speaking out about environmental issues, then using private jets for trips around Europe.
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Elton John said that he had made a donation to Carbon Footprint to offset the carbon costs of the jet he booked for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
But Greenpeace’s chief scientist Doug Parr said that it’s “not okay” to assume the trip was therefore “carbon neutral”.
It is estimated the couple’s return flights from England to Nice generated around seven tonnes of CO2.
Many of the schemes run by UK registered company Carbon Footprint focus on putting in place systems which stop CO2 being released into the atmosphere.
One scheme, for example, helps to provide efficient stoves to Kenya villagers, who currently burn wood and charcoal to cook.
Dr Parr said to the Mail: “They’re not wrong things to be done, but they’re not the answer that’s meaningful in terms of the climate challenge we face.
“The two aren’t equivalent. If you’ve got big puffs of CO2 which come out almost instantaneously, yes over years and years it gets slowly absorbed but over those years it’s been warming the planet.”
According to Carbon Positive Life a single tree can absorb 48lbs of CO2 per year – so it would take 321 years to absorb seven tonnes.
ROYAL JET-SETTERS
Tuesday July 30: Prince Harry speaks at the Google Summit in Sicily
Tuesday August 6: Harry and Meghan Markle fly by private jet to Ibiza
Monday August 12: The couple return to the UK by private jet
Wednesday August 14: Meghan, Harry and baby Archie fly to Nice by private plane
Saturday August 17: They fly back to Hampshire in the same jet
There are more than 20 scheduled departures from London airports to Nice each Wednesday, with an EasyJet return costing £232.
And Ellen DeGeneres has also defended the “compassionate, down-to-earth” couple amid the row.
Piers previously tweeted when the jet photos were revealed, and said: “Jeez… these two ‘eco-warriors’ are something else. Beyond parody.”
This follows a barefoot Prince Harry giving an impassioned speech about climate change at Google Camp to celebs believed to include Leonardo DiCaprio, Naomi Campbell, Stella McCartney and Harry Styles.
He also repeated his vow to only have two kids because of his eco-concerns.
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