Ryanair's chief executive accuses Chancellor Sajid Javid of making 'inaccurate and seriously misleading' statements about Flybe's finances
The row about a government-backed rescue package for the regional airline Flybe intensified on Tuesday with a fresh attack by Ryanair's chief executive on Sajid Javid, the chancellor.
Sky News has obtained a letter sent by Michael O'Leary accusing Mr Javid of making"inaccurate and seriously misleading" statements about Flybe's finances. Mr O'Leary described a short-term tax deferral granted to Flybe known as a"Time to Pay" arrangement as a"breach of state aid rules" because"all of its competitor airlines in the UK continue to pay their [Air Passenger Duty] on time".
In his letter, the Ryanair boss stepped up his criticism of Flybe's owners - led by Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic - by asking Mr Javid:"If these billionaire shareholders are not willing to put their hand in their own deep pockets to bail out the loss-making Flybe, then why is your government and HMRC [the tax authorities] giving them a bail-out?"comes nearly a fortnight after he threatened to sue the government over its involvement in a financial support package aimed...
Sources close to Ryanair said it intended to launch legal action once it had seen full details of the deal between the government and Flybe.
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