Dear Cllr

During last Thursday’s meeting of council you accused me of wasting the authority’s time with my attempts to ferret out the truth about the above.
Just in case you are not familiar with the facts, I will repeat them so that there can be no cause for confusion.
On 31 January 2001, Cllr Hall attended a reception in the House of Commons on behalf of the Fire Authority.
Having stayed overnight at the Jarvis International in Hyde Park he paid his hotel bill at 10.13 am on February 1 and set forth for home.
Timed receipts he provided to support his expense claim show that he crossed the Severn Bridge at 12.56 pm, and 12 minutes later, at 1.08 pm, he bought lunch at the First Motorway Service Station, near Magor.
Cllr Hall had another duty to perform that day: a meeting of the South Wales Integrated Transport Forum (SWITCH) which was due to commence at 2.00 pm in the offices of Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council (NPTCBC) at Penllergaer.
Cllr Hall’s expense claim shows him setting off from Pembroke Dock at 2.00 pm (altered from 1 pm) to attend this meeting; claiming 130 miles (£63) for the return journey.
Copies of the relevant documents can be found on my website www.oldgrumpy.co.uk - click on past columns and then August 10 2004.
If this is a true account of his movements, it would mean he ate lunch and drove the 125 miles from Magor to Pembroke Dock, via Haverfordwest, in 52 minutes.
I have already written to both the previous and the present Leader promising that, following receipt of a coherent explanation of how this was achieved, I will never again mention the matter.
Neither has replied.
As you seem to think I am wrong to pursue this subject, I ask you the same question on the same terms.
I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely

PS. I will be posting a copy of this letter on my website and will be happy to extend the same facility to your reply.