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Police commissioner defiant in face of criticism over expenses





Conservative Anthony Stansfeld, who was elected to the £85,000 per year Thames Valley PCC role last November, also defended his decision to employ an extra assistant at nearly £20,000 per year to chauffeur him to meetings, take notes and help organise his day.
Last December, Mr Stansfeld, who also represents Kintbury as a district councillor on West Berkshire Council, rejected claims of cronyism after appointing a fellow Conservative as his £35,000 per year assistant.
Other party members have rushed to his aid, including Newbury MP Richard Benyon, who described the latest affair as a “ridiculous non-story”.
The actions of the PCC are scrutinised by the Police and Crime Panel for Thames Valley.
West Berkshire panel member Graham Jones - another Conservative - said this week the criticisms were “ludicrously overblown”.
Mr Stansfeld hit the headlines when it emerged he had set up an office in Hungerford’s part-time police station - which he designated his main office - nine miles from his Kintbury home.
This has meant he could claim for journeys from Hungerford to Thames Valley Police’s headquarters in Kidlington, Oxfordshire.
If Kidlington was designated as his main office he would not be able to claim mileage at 45p per mile for the 74-mile round trip from home.
In the two months before he opened the office in Hungerford in February he claimed £30.50 for 50 miles’ travelling.
Over the following two months he claimed £1,064.15 for 2,339 miles.
Chief executive of the Taxpayers’ Alliance, Matthew Sinclair, said: “These revelations, on top of the cost of the chauffeur driven car, will leave Thames Valley residents wondering if their PCC is more interested in palming off his travel bill to taxpayers than actually representing them.”
Mr Stansfeld is being driven in an Audi A6, which he defended saying it was an ex-police car, had 111,000 miles on the clock and a value of about £5,000.
Talking to the Newbury Weekly News late on Tuesday night, Mr Stansfeld said: “I’ve behaved entirely properly and I believe this is entirely politically inspired.
"I’ve an absolute, cast iron reason for having the car and someone to drive me on a part-time basis.
"And I simply can’t operate without having an office nearby.
"I only go to Kidlington two or three times a week.
"I’ve a lot of information coming in, much of it of a confidential or restricted nature.
“I’m not prepared to to have such documentation insecure in my house - I need the secure police computer at the nearest police station, which is Hungerford.
"I use it more often than Kidlington.”
He added: “I’m sure the crime panel which meets on Friday will support me on the car, too - I can’t be expected to drive myself when attending three or four meetings a day. "It would be a huge waste of time when I could be telephoning, or reading up.
"All my accounts and expenses claims are done through my staff and a monitoring officer approves them.”
Mr Stansfeld said he had not submitted any mileage claims since acquiring the car.
Mr Benyon said: “I entirely support him.
He is doing a very good job reducing the cost of policing, focusing on catching criminals and supporting victims. It’s a ridiculous non-story.”
Mr Jones said: “He had an office in Hungerford for purely practical reasons. Thames Valley is a huge area.”



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