Cost expected to total £900,000.

The government has acquired a second plane painted in the colours of the Union flag to ferry the prime minister and other dignitaries around on short-haul trips.

Six-month-old Airbus A321 has same ‘Global Britain’ livery as RAF Voyager, which cost taxpayer £900,000 to repaint.

Prince Charles has arrived in Barbados as the Caribbean island prepares to remove the Queen as its head-of-state and become a republic.

Opposition MPs have reacted furiously after Downing Street confirmed that work to paint a military plane used by the British prime minister in the colours of the Union flag will cost almost £1 million.