James Young (Echo, October 4) seems to have misunderstood my comments regarding Mr Drax’s staffing costs of £135,000.
It is impossible to comment on any MP’s expenses without understanding the context of the figures involved. I was taking issue with Mr Drax for his apparent reluctance to put this figure into context by letting his constituents know how many people this staffing bill covered.
Oliver Letwin in West Dorset explained he had three full time staff. Mr Drax avoided giving this information, saying only that IPSA monitored and agreed his expenses.
But does IPSA’s endorsement mean his constituents are not entitled to ask for any more details or clarification?
Does it mean that when a local paper is seeking more details for its readers and asks a simple question about how many staff this bill covers, a satisfactory answer is to refer the people he represents back to a web site?
His counterparts in the rest of Dorset clearly thought their constituents should have an answer to this question.
It is disappointing that Mr Drax didn’t think the same clarifi-cation should be given to voters in South Dorset.
Jane Burnet
South Dorset Green Party
Parliamentary candidate
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