Activists and politicians have called on former British foreign minister Boris Johnson to pay back to the public the costs of a trip he made to Afghanistan in June amid a public row over the construction of a third runway at the Heathrow International Airport.
The British foreign ministry on Thursday responded to media calls for clarification on Johnson’s trip to Afghanistan on June 25, the day of the controversial Heathrow Airport vote, saying the trip cost UK taxpayers nearly 20,000 pounds ($25,500).
At the time, Johnson was widely criticized for missing the crucial Heathrow vote, having once promised to lie down in front of the bulldozers to prevent a third runway being built at the airport, close to his Uxbridge constituency in west London.
He was accused of taking the last-minute trip to Afghanistan to avoid having to abandon his position or resign his cabinet post to vote against the government.
Johnson reportedly spent just nine…