SIR – I was astonished to read your report, ‘Councillor must return duplicate expenses money’, on Thursday, October 1, stating Coun Stephen Clee has agreed to hand back £95.

Both Coun Clee and the head of legal services, Simon Mallinson, imply this error was discovered due to the vigorous internal audit system at County Hall.

It is well documented that it was me who discovered the errors in my then role as chairman of overview and scrutiny and submitted a written report to council on February 19, 2009, illustrating the deficiency in the procedures and checks.

During my investigation I endured great resistance by the council which would have preferred this matter was kept away from the public and further internal investigation.

It should also be known that the eventual findings do not agree with my submission, and my suggested changes to procedures have been totally ignored.

The public should be aware that although the county council members have agreed to publish on a monthly basis their submitted monthly expense claims, there are other allocated members expenses that are still being withheld. By doing so the true costs and activities of each elected member are not being published.

So much for being open with the people of Worcestershire.

JOHN BUCKLEY,
Worcester.