The Chairman of the House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee has strongly denied claims by the Reading Lib Dem councillors that the timing of the visit was designed to influence the outcome of the local election.  Lib Dem councillors Daisy Benson and Gareth Epps accused Reading West MP Martin Salter of organising the visit himself as an election ploy when in fact Lib Dem MPs were involved in approving the visit programme several months ago. 

Keith Vaz MP said: 

“I was astonished to read the attack on the committee visit on the Lib Dem website in Reading.  The date and programme for the visit to Reading was agreed unanimously several months ago by the Home Affairs Select Committee, which included two Lib Dem MPs - Bob Russell and Jeremy Brown.  The same procedure was followed when we took evidence from all three candidates for the London Mayoral election which included Tom Brake MP (the Lib Dem campaign manager) on our inquiry into policing.  The work of parliament cannot stop by the virtue of the timing of local elections.  The visit to Reading was informative, productive and non-partisan.”

Martin Salter added:

“The local Lib Dems are behaving like petulant children and really should check their facts first before making absurd and inaccurate attacks on what was an excellent meeting organised entirely on a cross party basis and fully in line with the procedures of the House of Commons.”

He added:

“The attacks by Daisy Benson and Gareth Epps on the cross party campaign that I have been leading to halt the poaching of police officers by the Metropolitan Police are also somewhat misplaced given the support of Lib Dem MP Bob Russell (Colchester) who was part of my recent delegation to see the Home Secretary.  It is clear that the local Lib Dems don’t talk to their Lib Dem colleagues in parliament - or if they do, their own MPs have simply been ignoring them.”

Mr Salter launched the campaign against the loss of police officers to the Met in January 2007 and organised a delegation to meet Jacqui Smith on the 4^th February 2008 which Bob Russell MP agreed to attend.