That’s one way avoid the London traffic and Lincolnshire’s roads — Prime Minister Boris Johnson arrived in the county this morning by aeroplane.

He then visited Boston Pilgrim Hospital to announce £21.3 million of capital funding for the facility which has been struggling to cope with patient numbers, staff shortages and development money for more than half a decade.

The PM’s aeroplane landed at RAF Coningsby this morning, as Boris Johnson was due to hold a speech in Boston at 11.30am.

The PM’s Jaguar was waiting for him at RAF Coningsby to take him to Boston. Photo: Graham Beaumont

Speaking to BBC Radio Lincolnshire, Boris Johnson said: “I’m very, very pleased to be here at the Pilgrim Hospital in Boston, where we’re putting some money into the A&E.

“It’s part of a national programme that the NHS asked for,” he added.

Some 20 UK hospitals which will share £850 million of the funding over the next five years as part of a £1.8 billion pledge for the NHS.

The prime ministerial private jet at RAF Conningsby. Photo: Graham Beaumont

The Nuffield Trust has argued that the remainder £1bn is money that NHS providers were promised in return for making savings over the past three years and then told they couldn’t spend, not additional funding.

But it is still a pot of money that the NHS was not able to spend before this announcement, which it can now spend.

More than 400 jobs in Spalding are set to go as Addo Food Group plans to close its bakery in the town in 2020.

The firm wants to divert production to bakeries in Poole and Palethorpes.

Addo Food Group makes a range of baked goods including sausage rolls and various types of pasties.

The company said the proposed closure, which would impact 405 employees, is required to ensure it is profitable.

Deborah Bolton, CEO at Addo, said: “In order to maintain our market-leading position and meet customer expectations as efficiently as possible, we need to optimise our manufacturing sites to enable a continued investment in quality, service, product and packaging innovation.

“This proposal will allow us to achieve this and whilst we fully understand the disappointment of this announcement for all of our employees, we are committed to doing everything possible to support them over the coming weeks, especially those who would be directly affected.”

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