MP refuses to say sorry over Pizzagate
An MP has refused to apologise to a council after claiming it spent tens of thousands of pounds of taxpayers' money on a luxury hotel and pizzas in India.
Paul Uppal quoted figures in a live radio interview saying Wolverhampton City Council spent £70,000 on a hotel and £1,428 on pizzas.
The figures were actually Indian rupees and the spend was £723 for the hotel and £14 for the pizza.
Wolverhampton South West Conservative MP Mr Uppal has faced calls from the Labour leader of the council to say sorry. But he blames the council for allowing the figures to be quoted on a website with a pound sign in front of them and says it calls into question the reliability of the information it puts into the public domain.
Poll: Who should apologise over the Pizzagate row?
The row, dubbed Pizzagate, blew up as the council was preparing to vote through £123 million of spending cuts.
Asked if he was going to apologise Mr Uppal said: "The council thanked me for highlighting the anomaly and said they would be putting it right. There was a pound sign in front of this. A big part of the failing on the part of the council is that when this was published it was incorrect.
"It throws into question the reliability of the council's spending data.
Hear reporter Dan Wainwright take part in a debate on the aftermath of Pizzagate:
Mr Uppal was left embarrassed when, during the live interview on BBC WM, he was told the figures were in rupees.
Councillor Roger Lawrence, Labour leader of Wolverhampton City Council, said: "Paul Uppal owes the city council a serious apology. He is so desperate to save his skin, he has just done some sloppy research."
