A top council officer at the centre of a row over unlawful expenditure claimed almost £20,000 in taxpayer cash to pay for repeated trips to Dubai, new figures have revealed.
A freedom of information request by the local democracy reporting service revealed that Northumberland County Council CEO Daljit Lally flew to the Middle East country seven times between January 2018 and December 2019. The total cost of the flights - excluding VAT - came to £18,825.87, with the most expensive flight in March 2018 costing the taxpayer an eye-watering £3,792.22
An additional £989.27 was claimed in the 2017/18 financial year for refreshments and hospitality, bringing the total amount claimed by Ms Lally between 2017 and 2020 for foreign travel expenses to £19,815.14.