The miserly Chief Whip is still be ferried around on daily trips from Downing Street to the House of Commons
Lazy Tory Michael Gove is driving the taxpayer round the bend by wasting their money on chauffeur-driven journeys of just 400 yards.
Despite being dumped as the Education Secretary by David Cameron last summer, the miserly Chief Whip is still be ferried around on daily trips from Downing Street to the House of Commons – a three minute walk – using a £110,000 limo service.
The Prime Minister – who vowed a clamp down on the lavish use of Government cars – has allowed his close pal to keep the perk, which is usually reserved for only the most senior ministers.
It means the loathed Tory – who once offered teachers a despicable 1% pay rise – can be at the PM’s beck and call.
Labour MP Grahame Morris fumed: “The Tories preach austerity while wasting taxpayers’ cash. Seeing Michael Gove use his chauffeur-driven car, even if he’s only going down the road, shows they revel in the trappings of office while others struggle to make ends meet.”
The Mirror was tipped off by a worried party insider about Mr Gove’s fondness for riding in the £70,000 Jaguar XJL with a driver whose salary is up to £40,000 – often on extremely short trips.
At the start of this month, the MP for Surrey Heath made one of his 73-second morning hops from No10 to the Commons.
Earlier, he had been picked from the £1.5million home he shares with his journalist wife Sarah and their two children in North Kensington, West London – just three miles from Westminster.
Our reporters saw Mr Gove, 47, make the exact same route again the following day, on February 4, although this time the MP was frustrated by a 122-second journey, caused after getting caught at a set of traffic lights on the 400-yard stretch.
A source said: “There’s a joke that sometimes it seems like Mr Gove is being driven around in the circles.
"Living where he does, it’s not like he has far to come to work. It’s hard to see why he needs to be ferried around in such an extravagant way.”
On February 5, we photographed Mr Gove in the evening arriving in the Jag to give a talk at the plush Policy Exchange building – only 320 yards from his office in Parliament, a 20-second trip by car.
Earlier that day, Mr Gove had given an interview for London radio station LBC in Leicester Square which is under a mile away.
Last Tuesday, it was business as usual for Mr Gove – whose wife revealed he only passed his driving test at the seventh attempt.
He arrived at Downing Street shortly after 8am as the PM briefed ministers. Two hours later, following an 88 second journey, Mr Gove arrived back at the Commons.
It was the biggest shock of Mr Cameron’s last Cabinet reshuffle when news emerged that he had demoted Mr Gove to post of Tory Chief Whip, a job that revolves around enforcing party discipline.
But private polling by the party showed he had become a “toxic liability” among the teaching profession and other voters.
Unlike ministers, whips do not have public engagements, meaning it is hard for them to justify any use of the costly service.
Yet the PM allowed Mr Gove to use the top-of-the-range chauffeur rides.
It was a perk his predecessors, Sir George Young and Andrew Mitchell, did not get.
Tory sources insist that Mr Gove has been ferried around in extravagant style ever since the reshuffle last July.
One admitted: “There is utter dismay about Michael Gove’s behaviour – especially as we are months away from a general election.
"He likes to think of himself as still being in a job as a minister.
"We are worried he is still coming across as pompous to the core.”
Many government ministers now use an eco-friendly Toyota Prius in a move designed to prove their green credentials.
It also helps show they are in tune with Mr Cameron’s pledge to cut government spending costs.
He previously said: “If there’s something that really annoys people, it’s seeing politicians swanning around in chauffeur-driven cars like they’re the Royal Family.”
In 2010, the then Chief Secretary to the Treasury, David Laws, demanded ministers slash the use of the taxpayer-funded perk, a move which he said could save nearly £2.8million a year.
Mr Laws said at the time: “Ministers will be expected to walk or take public transport where possible, or use a pooled car.”
Weeks ago, it was revealed Tory heavyweight Eric Pickles had spent £500,000 on luxury limos in three years.
When asked about Mr Gove’s short journeys, a Cabinet Office spokesman: “On each of these occasions, the car contained highly classified papers which had to be transported from Downing Street to the House of Commons.
“The ministerial code is clear that official cars can be used to transport classified documents which must be handled securely.
"Therefore, these journeys had to be made regardless of whether the Chief Whip was in the car himself.”
A Mirror reporter hailed a black taxi from Downing Street to the House Of Commons – but the job was refused by the cabbie.
The driver scoffed: “Do me a favour... it’s only over there!”
