Keir on business! Photos of PM working on plane to Rio amid travel row

Keir Starmer has posed for photos working hard on the plane to Rio as he fends off criticism of his globetrotting.

Pictures taken en route to the G20 summit feature a serious-looking Sir Keir leafing through documents.

The images - including one taken by No10's in-house snapper - are in contrast to previous trips, where the premier has been depicted chatting with journalists and aides.

Sir Keir's four-day jaunt to Brazil - where he is due to meet Xi Jinping and have talks on issues including the Ukraine war - is the 15th time he has been out of the country since winning power in July.

He will have been away from the UK for more than three weeks in total.

That includes time in Ireland, Italy, Berlin, Brussels, Budapest, Washington DC, France, Azerbaijan and a five-day trip to Samoa.

He also flew to New York for the UN General Assembly after the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool in September.

In the same period, MPs have only sat for 34 days in the House of Commons to work on legislation and delivering the government's agenda.

Overall, 16 of the Prime Minister's 136 days in No 10 will have been spent on planes. 

Prior to the Rio trip, this resulted in an estimated 920,065kg of CO2 being emitted by the Airbus A321 usually used by the Prime Minister. 

This figure could breach one million kilograms by the time he returns from Brazil.

The PM has been forced to defend his constant jet-setting, suggesting he prefers to meet world leaders in person rather than talk over the phone.

'The question is what am I spending my time doing, not where I am,' he said earlier this month.

'I think the best way to build good relations that are based on trust and respect is face to face. I'm a big believer in face-to-face engagement.'

Sir Keir previously said he preferred networking at the World Economic Forum in Davos to operating in Westminster, which he branded a 'tribal shouting place'.

The PM cut a lonely figure at COP29 in Baku, which was snubbed by most other major world leaders such as US President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron and under-pressure German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Sir Keir did not address their absences when asked. He said: 'We are here to show leadership, we are here because I see this not only as one of the most important challenges we face globally but one of the most important opportunities.'

No 10 insiders have suggested that the Prime Minister is front-loading his international trips and will be more sparing with his travel as his time in office goes on.