It’s not fake news, it’s a real concern

Judging by the flurry of press releases it issued, Peterborough City Council is rattled by claims its budget may have been illegal. It’s alleged the council has unlawfully used £23million from selling assets to meet its running costs, a claim it strenuously denies.

Cllr David Seaton, the city’s ‘chancellor of the exchequer’ even took to his feet in the council chamber to disclaim it as fake news.

He also told councillors “a leading financial QC’’ had said he “cannot see that the council had acted illegally in any way.’’

The fact is, the government has not dismissed this claim out of hand – which it surely would have done if it was indeed ‘fake news’.

On the contrary, the government is to investigate the council’s spending.

And why has the council felt the need to employ a “leading financial QC’’ to check its budget was legal?

What does Cllr Seaton expect the PT to do? Ignore the fact that the government is investigating?

The residents of this city have the right to know what is being done in their name.

And they have the right to know how their money is being spent (and how their assets are being disposed of ).

Hopefully, the council will be cleared, because if it has broken the law there could be serious consequences for all of us. Whatever the outcome, no-one should doubt the extremely worrying state of the council’s finances.

If you were selling off assets – your car, your mobile phone – to make ends meet you would be in a scary place...

And I wonder how much that QC cost?