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Article from the Scunthorpe Telegraph 3/2/05
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Most people would not give the size of a whisky bottle – or the placement of a car indicator stick - a second thought.
But Euro MEP Godfrey Bloom claims taxpayers are paying hundreds of thousands of pounds for an EU committee to debate these issues. Six months after he was elected, Mr Bloom said he had been shocked at what he called a ‘scandalous waste of money’ at the heart of Europe.
Mr Bloom, whose UK Independence Party wants to withdraw Britain from the European Union, sits on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee (IMCPC) which meets once a week.
And he said, on top of his £57,000 salary, plus pensions, he could claim a £189.96 attendance allowance, in addition to 70p-a-mile travel expenses for the 1,348-mile round trip. The Euro MP said this meant he claimed £1,133.56 for each committee meeting.
And there are 77 other Euro MEPs on the committee, all entitled to the same benefits. “Although I have only been an MEP for six months, it seems this sort of thing goes on and on,” he said.
“My point is – why do we need an Internal Market and Consumer Protection committee at all? A bottle of whisky is a bottle of whisky whether it is one litre, two litres or a half-litre.”
Richard Freedman, a spokesman for the European Parliament, said expenses were available, but Parliamentary committees decided on important legislation.
“Committees and the whole Parliament decide on important issues which affect residents in North Lincolnshire, such as regional funding to support poorer areas,” he explained. “It’s typical of someone form UKIP to point out one minor issue.”
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