Taxigate: McLetchie bill hits £10K

Official records of parliamentary expenses show that McLetchie has billed 10,448 in taxi fares since 1999, equivalent to 33 for every week since Holyrood first came into being.

Of the MSPs who, like McLetchie, have worked in Edinburgh without a ministerial post since 1999, the next-highest claimant is independent MSP Margo MacDonald, who claimed a total 3,412.

Edinburgh Green MSP Robin Harper, who has led his party for the last six years in the parliament, tallied up a mere 1,893.59, less than a fifth of the Conservative leader's bill.

McLetchie's charges raise further questions over why he needed to use the taxi service to such an extent. It comes after suggestions he may have used them to go to the offices of Tods Murray, the law firm he worked for until last year.

His aides pointed out last night that McLetchie's overall expenses were not exorbitant and said he had turned down the offer of an official car as a leader of an opposition party.

But the doubts over McLetchie's affairs remain. One particularly damaging allegation centres on claims that he may have taken a cab to his legal office immediately after railing against former First Minister Henry McLeish in parliament over his expenses.

McLetchie's aides have indicated that he used his office at Tods Murray to undertake Holyrood business, but this has raised further questions over why he also charged the public for his parliamentary office in Edinburgh.

McLetchie has so far refused to say whether or not he used the taxi service to go to Tods Murray, while the Scottish Parliament authorities are also refusing to say, claiming that to do so would harm the MSP's "security" and "safety".

The controversy over the Scots Tory leader's expenses is now threatening to engulf his party, following its disappointing performance at the general election in May, which had already triggered bitter internal division.

Last night, there were the first signs that the row over his taxi fares had affected McLetchie's already wavering backing in the party.

Party insiders are demanding a full explanation from McLetchie at a meeting of MSPs to be held next month, together with a strategy for how he intends to draw a line under the row.

One senior source said: "There is a major question mark over the trust people have in us and I think he has to explain how we will get the people to trust us."

The insider added: "If we are going to be faced between now and 2007 with claims of a lack of transparency, then that is going to be difficult for us. We can't go to the public and say trust us. We will be left standing there with egg on our faces. We are owed an explanation."

Scotland on Sunday analysed all the taxi expenses of Edinburgh MSPs to ensure a like-for-like comparison.

Other Lothian MSPs who have served in the parliament include the SNP MSPs Kenny MacAskill (1,703.10) and Fiona Hyslop (831.31), Conservative MSP Lord James Douglas Hamilton (577.43) and Lib Dem MSP Margaret Smith (983.83).

Indeed, the total amount charged by all the 14 other Lothian MSPs who have represented the region since 1999 amounts to 14,314 - only slightly more than McLetchie's 10,448.

However, McLetchie is not alone in facing claims that he has used parliamentary taxis to pay for outside interests.

Taxi receipts obtained by Scotland on Sunday show that last year, Labour MSP Gordon Jackson, who is a director of Kilmarnock FC, charged the taxpayer 10.80 for a cab from his home to Ibrox to watch his team playing a game against Rangers.

Confronted with the evidence, Jackson explained last night: "If there was a Rangers vs Kilmarnock game then obviously I would have been there, but that would not be the only thing I was down there for. I may have been going to a community hall and then going on to the football. I may also have been taking other MSPs and sharing a cab and picking up their bill."

Jackson also charged 15.20 in taxi fares to enjoy the hospitality of the Scottish cricket union at a match between Scotland and Pakistan at the West of Scotland ground. He explained that he had been invited because his Govan constituency included many people of Pakistani origin.

One legal expert last night said that the parliament was wrong to withhold the information on McLetchie's expenses.

Mike Dailly, principal solicitor at the Govan Law Centre, which has advised public institutions on the freedom of information laws, said: "The parliament are either getting bad legal advice or they are covering their own backs for having signed off expenses they shouldn't have done."

A spokesman for McLetchie said: "The totality of his expenses are in the bottom third. I also seem to recall that Alex Salmond racked up a phenomenal amount on his taxi claims. David is a party leader: he doesn't use the car he could use for his parliamentary work if he wanted to."

'The other day I had this MSP in my cab...'

IMAGINE being able to call on the kind of perks offered to members of an exclusive private club. Then imagine not even having to pay for it.

This is the scenario for Scotland's 129 MSPs (and their counterparts at Westminster) whose 50,000-a-year salaries are boosted by any number of extra luxuries. An on-call 24-hour free taxi service - as Scots Tory leader David McLetchie has proven - is just one.

When Holyrood was set up six years ago, Parliament chiefs made it clear they frowned upon excessive taxi use. The MSPs' code of allowances states that cabs should only be hailed for "reasons of urgency or where it is not reasonably practicable for the member to use other forms of public transport".

But in practice, it has been a free-for-all, according to those who have enjoyed the perks of the job.

One former MSP said: "You could flag any cab down in Edinburgh when you'd been out for a meal with your friends or whatever and take it wherever you wanted. There were definitely one or two who took full advantage of that."

The Edinburgh firm Central Radio Taxis runs the contract to transport MSPs in the capital. All MSPs need do is pick up the phone, provide their telephone extension, and the cab is on its way. They must provide chits to parliamentary officials - and receipts for journeys outside Edinburgh - but it would seem the checks are somewhat lenient.

For example, insiders claim that some MSPs have been known to take taxis from Glasgow to Edinburgh, rather than bother with the train or bus.

With McLetchie now taking the brunt of the backlash for this six-year-long free-for-all, at least he can take comfort in his continuing popularity with the taxi drivers themselves - and not just because of the amount of money he send their way.

One driver commented: "I have picked him up a few times. He is very decent, quite chatty. Seems quite a smart guy. Very normal for a Tory."

Some Edinburgh taxi drivers regard the opportunity to raise issues with MSPs almost as a perk of the job, and relish the chance to debate with the professional debaters.

One driver said: "I've given some of them a piece of my mind about things in the past. Especially the cost of that Parliament and the state of the roads.

Rating the various members, one driver commented: "I have had George Reid in the back a few times. He's okay, very jovial.

"Alex Salmond is good fun. Even if you don't vote for him, he'll always chat and he's very convincing.

"The only one I have ever found aloof was that Nicola Sturgeon, I wasn't surprised when she didn't win the seat she was going for."