Bexhill citizens condemn Trust Party slurs
5 May 2010
Leading citizens of Bexhill, including former headmaster of St Richard’s Catholic College, Tony Campbell OBE and Father Robert Coates, have joined together to publish an open letter condemning the slurs that the Trust Party have been circulating regarding Greg Barker’s expenses.
Read it in full below:
Bexhill-on-Sea
19th April 2010
Dear fellow Bexhillians,
The Truth about our MP’s Expenses
This General Election is the most important for many years. For that reason we are particularly alarmed that attempts are being made to influence our votes in this constituency based on misleading information about our MP’s expenses by wilful distortions of the truth and by highly unpleasant personal attacks on Greg Barker. It is clear that a certain gentleman from Kent is using his vast gambling fortune to try to cash in on genuine public concerns about the national expenses scandal that has plagued all political parties.
Like you, we have received his unsolicited mail and seen his adverts. We are appalled at his opportunistic mis-information campaign and personal attacks. We wish to set the record straight, so that whatever your politics, you can make an informed decision, based on the facts.
1. After the Expenses Scandal, Greg Barker in common with all other MP’s had his expenses and claims dating back to 2004 thoroughly examined by Sir Thomas Legg and his team of independent auditors.
2. Sir Thomas found all of Greg Barker’s claims to be in order.
3. Unlike more than 350 MPs who were asked to make repayments, including the leaders of all three main parties, Greg Barker was not required to repay a penny.
4. The extraordinary allegation that he has “flippped” seven times is completely untrue.
5. Since 2007, Mr Barker has only rented secondary accommodation, as all MPs will have to do in future.
6. Mr Barker was obliged to sell his London property when his marriage ended in 2006. The suggestion was that he was profiteering is grossly misleading.
7. All of the substantial improvements and repairs to his former London property (which accounted for the lion’s share of the increase in vlaue between purchase and sale) were made entirely at the personal expense of Mr and Mrs Barker.
Greg Barker is not perfect but he is very hard working and has been a dedicated local MP since 2001.
Aspiring politicians who throw mud and make distasteful personal attacks only demean themselves and are unfit for public office. They certainly do not fool the voters of Bexhill and Battle!
Yours faithfully
John A Ball CBE
John Betts
Anthony Campbell MBE
Jimmy Carroll
Father Robert Coates
G Di Paolo
L A Di Paolo
Gino Forte
James Kimber
Mervyn Wooliams
