Monday 25 May 2009

The Telegraph turns the spotlight on Levitt...

Yesterday saw the publication of the first revelations about Tom Levitt by the Daily Telegraph.

Here are the salient points in their findings:
  • He claimed £16.50 for laying a wreath at Remembrance commemorations in 2006 (although the claim was rejected)
  • He claimed £5,281 for renovation work to a £275,000 maisonette he purchased in 2007 (which was at first queried by the fees office, but then paid in full)
  • He claimed £8013.77 to have a new bathroom suite fitted in January 2008 - although the fees office only allowed £6,335 to be paid to him
  • He over-claimed £6,000 in mortgage costs (which he has since repaid)
This is a political bombshell for the High Peak which we'll return to examine further as time goes by. But it seems our suspicions about Levitt have proved to be true. And it raises more questions than provides answers.

In the meantime, what disgusts us most is that Levitt has blamed the claiming of the wreath on a member of staff. And at the end of the article, his quote to the Telegraph is:
"As a former member of the Standards and Privileges Committee, my conscience is clear”
Levitt seems to have raised the Telegraph's ire because in his political column 2 weeks ago he accused them of “conniving with criminals in gutter journalism”. Serves him right...

No comments:

Post a Comment