A senior Conservative councillor was caught out, watching the television on his tablet device in the middle of a full council meeting at Croydon Town Hall last night.
David Fitze: attention deficit
Tory councillor for Fairfield ward David Fitze was observed by at least three witnesses, paying greater attention to what was on his screen than to the debates about council budget cuts and housing benefits.
“It was a shock to look around the council room to see Councillor Fitz with his tablet displaying a BBC TV programme playing,” was the opinion of one of the members of the public who has spoken to Inside Croydon. From the public gallery, it was not possible to see with certainty whether Fitze really was catching up with EastEnders.
“He should at least try and maintain an interest when fellow councillors are debating issues affecting thousands of Croydon residents’ lives,” the disgusted Council Tax-payer told Inside Croydon.
Councillor Fitze received a council “allowance” of £20,875 in the year to April 2012. Croydon Council met on eight dates in 2012.
The incident is similar to that which happened in the Connecticut state house when two state legislators were caught on camera playing solitaire on their computers during a House of Representives meeting.
Fortunately for Fitze, the audio or video recording of Croydon Council meetings was banned by the Conservative-controlled council.
Inside Croydon has contacted Councillor Fitze, largely to discover if there’s anything worth watching on the telly tonight. He has failed to respond. Perhaps he has turned off his tablet.
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