LETTER: Councillor Fitzpatrick is in a German muddle
I WRITE in response to the dissembling remarks from Labour councillor Lawrence Fitzpatrick regarding this council's long-standing twinning link with Germany.
Councillor Fitzpatrick claims that he paid his own way – as did his Labour colleagues – on an official council twinning visit in 1999.
There was no official council twinning visit in 1999 so I can only assume that Cllr Fitzpatrick is referring to a private visit.
On all such occasions all councillors pay their own fares and accommodation costs. This has always been the case.
In 2000, there was an official visit to Germany and, under Labour control, a delegation of 13 (nine councillors) travelled at council expense.
The council's finance department has no record of Cllr Fitzpatrick, or any other Labour councillor, reimbursing the council for this trip.
In 2006, again under Labour, another delegation of 13 was sent, with all travel costs for councillors met by the council.
In 2010, West Lothian Council will be sending four councillors and one officer to Germany to represent our council on this official visit – with the council meeting only the travel costs – a substantial reduction in the size of delegation sent by Labour.
As I will not be one of them, Cllr Fitzpatrick's suggestion that I should pay my own travel costs on this official trip is irrelevant.
However, he may care to join with me in expressing outrage at the fact that (former) Labour Livingston MP Jim Devine is to have his legal costs fully paid by us, the taxpayers, as he seeks to defend criminal charges of fraud against him.
To pay for the legal costs of an MP to defend charges of fraud against the public purse is totally unacceptable and only serves to add insult to injury.
Peter Johnston, leader, West Lothian Council
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Weather for Bathgate
Tuesday 07 February 2012
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