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Euro-Sleaze Spreads
Yesterday we discussed how Conservative Euro-MPs were using taxpayers' money to pay family and friends to act as official "advisers" and "assistants."
Today, the dodgy arrangements of British MEPs from other parties are being revealed. Former actor and Labour MEP Michael Cashman pays his civil partner Paul Cottingham £30,000 a year to work as an 'accounts manager, payroll administrator and personal manager'; Mr Cottingham also runs a PR company.
As the Mail reports, there is no evidence Brussels rules have been broken, but it is difficult to see how someone can run a busy PR firm while also holding down a 30K a year admin post.
Most PR executives your correspondent has ever crossed have not exactly possessed the sort of temperament required to function as PA: Is Mr Cottingham trying to tell us he is capable of being both Edina and Bubble?
The Telegraph puts the figure, at least for 2002, rather higher, at £8000 a month in secretarial expenses. The newspaper reports that Cottingham is paid 30 grand a year, but neither the MEP nor his partner has revealed where the remainder of the allowance goes. Mr Cashman employs at least one other Brussels-based assistant.
The Cashman/Cottingham pair are rank amateurs at the expenses swindle compared to their Tory peers, however. At least Cashman does something to earn his keep - he quite rightly attacked Turkey's sinister closure of a gay advocacy group last week. On the Conservative benches sits the splendid Eurosceptic David Sumberg, who rejoices in the title "Britain's laziest MEP."
Mr Sumberg also faces the financial inquisition, as he pays his Missus up to £60,000 a year to act as his assistant. He protests that she is perfectly qualified to do such a job; however, the question is whether he has justified his salary: He has asked two questions and made a grand total of two speeches in the European Parliament since 2004.
