Mayor called to account over Cuba

Mayor called to account over Cuba

The London Assembly has called for detailed accounts of the meetings the
London Mayor Ken Livingstone had with government officials in Cuba.

The request was made after it was revealed that the mayor's trip - and
the cancelled Venezuelan leg of it - cost nearly £36,000.

The mayor said he had been invited to Cuba by the British Olympic Committee.

He added he met with Cuba's trade, economic and foreign affairs
ministers to discuss the US trade embargo.

Oil deal

A breakdown of costs for the trip revealed that the mayor and four
officials stopped in Cuba, at a cost of about £20,000, including £16,991
in flight tickets.

However, Mr Livingstone, said he felt the cost of the trip was "modest".

His plans to visit Venezuela to sign an oil deal following a meeting
with President Hugo Chavez fell through.

Although he returned from Cuba, he left his officials to go on to
Venezuela. A breakdown revealed that this took place at a cost of nearly
£16,000, including £12,948 on flights.

I will have to go to the airport, which I hate, have a long flight,
which I loathe, and rush back as soon as possible
Ken Livingstone
Liberal Democrat leader on the London Assembly Mike Tuffrey said: "The
mayor's explanation for his trip to Cuba does not wash.

"He can protest as much as he likes but this trip has cost London
taxpayers at least £35,000 - all so he could attend, for less than 20
minutes, a minor meeting at an IOC conference.

"And what is so far uncosted in this whole exercise is the amount of
staff time involved in arranging his useless trip to Latin America."

The London Assembly want to know exactly what Mr Livingstone's reasons
for going to Cuba were, along with an explanation for the level of costs
incurred.

On Tuesday, defending his trip Mr Livingstone said: "Of course I'm not
happy. I will have to go separately to Venezuela when I open the office
there.

"I will miss my kids. I will have to go to the airport, which I hate,
have a long flight, which I loathe, and rush back as soon as possible.

"I suspect it is just the problem of scheduling. I regret it. I look
forward to meeting President Chavez again as soon as possible."

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/6153030.stm

Published: 2006/11/15 23:26:31 GMT

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