The Tory council have been accused of protecting one of their own by amending a motion calling on Richard Ottaway MP to consider his position.
The motion, in response to Mr Ottaway’s expense claims, was proposed by the Labour opposition for the full council meeting on Monday night.
But it was ammended so any reference to Mr Ottaway was replaced by “MPs” so it covered all MPs and not just him.
Councillor Tony Newman, leader of the opposition, accused the Conservative group of acting “completely dishonestly” by removing Mr Ottaway’s name and preventing the elected representatives expressing their view on the MP’s controversial expenses.
Councillor Mike Fisher, leader of the council, said the only reason the motion was changed was because it was unfair to name individuals in an accusatory fashion.
He rejected claims it was a cover up, saying the ammended motion recognised MPs expenses was a cross party issue.
The motion was passed, but the Labour party refused to take part in the vote.
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