MP calls the SVS liars
- From: "Pat Gardiner" <patgardiner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 27 Nov 2007 10:33:10 -0000
Pat's Note: Unfortunately the East Anglian Daily Times does not have my
original similar complaint way back in 2000/2001 on-line. It just misses
their archives, and I can't yet find my copy. However, it does exist and can
be traced if needed.
Anyway, the thieving beggars have been evicted. Let's now get on and get a
serious police investigation with a view to prosecution.
http://new.edp24.co.uk/content/news/story.aspx?brand=EDPOnline&category=News&tBrand=edponline&tCategory=news&itemid=NOED26%20Nov%202007%2018%3A59%3A41%3A107
MP takes Defra hotel costs row to Commons
ADAM GRETTON
27 November 2007 07:00
A Suffolk MP last night called on the government to reveal the true cost of
accommodating Defra staff at a luxurious hotel during the height of the bird
flu outbreak, after it was claimed that taxpayers had been spared a huge
bill.
Farmers, politicians and local hoteliers spoke of their outrage last week
after it was revealed that government officials had been staying at the
extravagant Ickworth Hotel, near Bury St Edmunds, while tackling the H5N1
avian influenza virus at poultry farms near Diss.
A standard room at the picturesque country house, on the National Trust's
Ickworth estate - 22 miles away from the original bird flu outbreak at
Redgrave - normally costs from £310 a night.
But after Defra refused to disclose the cost of the accommodation last week,
a government source yesterday said that a special discount had been struck
between reservation company Expotel and the hotel for a significantly
reduced tariff
of £95 per person per night, including bed and
breakfast.
The EDP was also told that 30 animal health and Defra staff stayed at the
exclusive hotel for an average of three nights, costing a total of £8,550 -
an almost £20,000 discount - but had now moved to cheaper and more modest
accommodation in the Bury St Edmunds area.
However, West Suffolk MP Richard Spring, who previously described the
decision as a "grotesque extravagance", last night poured scorn on the
suggestion that one of the most luxurious hotels in the country would offer
such a rate and promised to raise the issue in the Commons.
"I do not believe it at all. I think it is most unlikely that a hotel like
Ickworth would charge £95 per person per night, including bed and breakfast.
I will put down a parliamentary question to the government to get to the
bottom of it. If they had nothing to hide, why did they not announce it last
week? As soon as the story broke, they were relocated," he said.
Mr Spring added that he believed that the Defra staff had been moved to the
Ramada Hotel, in Bury St Edmunds, which charges from £50 a room.
A Defra spokesman yesterday said all the staff temporarily based at the
local disease control centre at Bury and Redgrave Poultry outbreak had left
the Ickworth Hotel by last Wednesday. She added that the tariff was
"reasonable", but staff had been moved to save taxpayers' money.
"During a disease outbreak, our primary interest is to
get the staff down there as quickly as possible and close to the site. We
work closely with an external service provider to ensure the most
appropriate accommodation is found, and ensure that the accommodation
provides the best value for money possible in the circumstances," she said.
Maureen Ling, owner of Rookery Farm bed and breakfast, in Wortham, near
Diss, said she was "pleased" that Defra's accommodation bill was cheaper
than feared. However, £95 a night was still "expensive", she said.
Accommodation in the Diss area costs on average between £30 and £60.
--
Regards
Pat Gardiner
www.go-self-sufficient.com
.
- Follow-Ups:
- Re: MP calls the SVS liars - more
- From: Pat Gardiner
- Re: MP calls the SVS liars - more
- Prev by Date: Re: Biomass heaters question
- Next by Date: Coming clean
- Previous by thread: Monday
- Next by thread: Re: MP calls the SVS liars - more
- Index(es):
Relevant Pages
|
