The Conservative MP for Clwyd West and former Assembly Member (though he will not openly admit it) David Jones has commented on his blog on the call he received yesterday from the Daily Telegraph about his expense claims.
It seems that sitting at a desk in London is not a good way to understand the very many demands on an MP’s time:
And the second allegation? Well, it ran as follows:
Using your office expenses, you spent £9.79 on a Welsh dictionary. Please could you explain in what way you felt this was an appropriate use of public money, and why it was necessary given that you have lived in Wales most of your life.
To which I replied:
I represent a Welsh-speaking constituency and I frequently deal with correspondence in the Welsh language. My constituents are entitled to correspond with me in whichever language they prefer and I encourage them to do so.
Although I do speak Welsh, it is not with such fluency that I am able to deal with correspondence that is often of a technical nature without the assistance of a Welsh – English dictionary. I use the dictionary regularly and exclusively for my constituency work. In fact, I find it hard to see how anyone with any knowledge of Wales could not understand that a Welsh – English dictionary is an essential tool for correspondence in Welsh.
As one of comments on Mr. Jones’ blogpost says, what would the situation have been if he had sought reimbursement for an English Dictionary? Such a claim would not even have raised an eyebrow at the Telegraph.
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