A FORMER MP stranded in New Zealand is furious the Government will not fly home thousands of Brits like himself.

Stephen Lloyd, who served as Eastbourne'S MP for seven years, has been stuck in the city of Christchurch for weeks.

He said flights to London are expensive and infrequent and called on the Government to help stranded Brits.

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“The British Government may think they have sorted this but they haven’t,” he told ITV Meridian.

“There are still many thousands of Brits like myself in New Zealand.

“The challenge is that there are still very, very few flights from Auckland to London and some of them are up to £10,000.

“I don’t understand why the Government won’t be doing repatriation flights from New Zealand but they’re doing them in other parts of the world.”

New Zealand’s government has relaxed travel restrictions to allow Brits to travel domestically to catch flights home.

But those wishing to return home are not allowed to take more than a day to travel to their chosen airport in New Zealand, something Mr Lloyd believes is nearly impossible due to the small number of flights to London.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office admitted on Twitter the cost of flights was “a real problem”.

It will only provide emergency loans "in very exceptional circumstances as a last resort" to those who cannot afford flights home and cannot get the money from friends, family, or charities.

But it said it had no plans for repatriation flights because the Government is focusing on countries where Brits are "most vulnerable".

“We know that the cost of commercial flights is a real problem,” a spokesman said.

“We are working to increase provision and competition and lower prices, and are encouraging airlines to keep routes affordable and issue refunds for cancelled flights rather than credits.

“There are currently no plans to provide chartered repatriation flights from New Zealand.

“The focus is on countries where there are no commercial options available, and where British nationals are most vulnerable.”

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