"SCOTTISH Conservatives leader David McLetchie was under increased pressure last night after it appeared that he claimed expenses for regular taxi trips for Conservative Party business.
The trips included journeys to an upmarket residential area in Edinburgh. The Sunday Herald can reveal the street is home to Tory activist Lady Sian Biddulph, who said that McLetchie visited her flat on “party” business, where he used to drop off papers.
The journeys to Ravelston Terrace, some of which were made after 8pm, were billed to the public
and were part of the Pentlands MSP’s £11,500 taxi bill."
And Scotland on Sunday (here) is equally willing to step into the gutter:
"It has emerged that the Scottish Tory leader took several taxis, at taxpayers' expense, to a street in Edinburgh where it is thought he may have visited the home of a female party worker - and that he claimed mileage to drive to Perth on the eve of a party conference.
McLetchie, currently holidaying in New Zealand, was plunged into a political crisis last week after it emerged he had used parliamentary expenses to pay for another trip to a party conference
in Bournemouth.
He paid the sum back - but the affair now threatens to overwhelm the Tory leader in much the same way as a similar row over expenses sank former First Minister Henry McLeish.
Now further information has come to light about his claims this weekend, showing that:
• McLetchie claimed for taxis to an Edinburgh street which is home to Lady Sian Biddulph, who worked as a secretary for the Conservatives.
• He also charged the taxpayer mileage for a trip to Perth on the eve of a Conservative conference held four years ago. "
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