Council spending on link with Russian city an ‘embarrassment’
TWO TRIPS TO VOLGOGRAD TOOK PLACE AFTER THE SALISBURY POISONINGS
COVENTRY City Council spending thousands of pounds on its relations with a Russian city was “ill-judged” and “an embarrassment to us all”, a councillor has said.
More than £12,000 was spent by the council on “civic visits” to and from Volgograd over the past five years, it was revealed in the Spectator magazine last week.
This included two trips to Volgograd after the 2018 Salisbury poisonings which severely damaged relations between the UK and Russia. News of the spending came after Coventry and Volgograd’s 78-yearold twin link was suspended in March, due to outrage over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Speaking at a full council meeting on Tuesday (June 22), the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Cllr Peter Male, condemned the use of public funds. He asked his opposite number to justify the council spending “so much money developing relations with a regime that poisoned people on UK soil”.
Deputy Council Leader Abdul Khan admitted that the money was “unusual”, but cited the “long-standing relationship” and anniversary events as a reason for the huge figures. Costs included rededicating Volgograd place to just outside the Holy Trinity and attending the International Association of Peace Messenger Cities, he said.
But Cllr Male fired back: “Does the Cabinet member accept that when the ill-judged spending decisions of Coventry City Council attract national attention in the Spectator magazine that it is an embarrassment to us all?”
In response, Cllr Khan said: “I think what the embarrassment is, the way you try to speak about these very important links we’ve had for many years. Yes, turbulent times are present, but over the years before the relationship didn’t have the current problems we have, nobody has a crystal ball.”
He added: “Again referring back to your own government, in response to the war in Ukraine and the Russian aggression there, your government has aligned itself with two of the most tyrannical regimes in the world - Iran and Saudi Arabia, both of whom do not believe in human rights, do not believe in LGBT rights, yet you’ve not condemned that.”
Does the Cabinet member accept that when the illjudged spending decisions of Coventry City Council attract national attention in the Spectator magazine that it is an embarrassment to us all