A trip to Stockholm by Bradford Council leader Ian Greenwood cost twice the amount reported, it has been revealed.

The real cost of the trip by the Labour member - who was deputy leader at the time - is revealed in a report by officers to go to the Council's policy and resources committee next week.

The report shows the visit cost twice as much as officers originally said and the committee will be told by acting strategic director of corporate services John Baker that the actual cost was £1,200.

The truth came to light when the Council's Liberal Democrat group queried a record of trips abroad submitted to members in July. They questioned its accuracy, especially surrounding the cost of the trip to Stockholm.

Now officers have produced amended lists of visits dating back to 1994 and say that there were omissions because of clerical errors.

The officers will point out to the committee that before the report was produced, no central register of attendance at conferences by members was kept.

The trip by Councillor Greenwood was to attend a global access conference.

He said today that when the figures were questioned he had written immediately to the Council's chief executive asking him about the figure.

He said: "I said I had doubts. There has been a check on all the figures."

Coun Greenwood said he had not put the figure in personally and added: "This is an error which was made by an officer. The vast majority were reported correctly."

The amended report shows trips paid for by the Council over the years from 1994 cost more than £26,000.

Leader of the Council's Liberal Democrat group Coun Jeanette Sunderland said: "Overall, £30,000 may not seem a lot to a ruling Labour Group used to dishing out more than that on pet projects but to council tax payers, even that full amount must be fully justified and explained."

She said councillors had still not received any feedback on trips already taken this year and what they had achieved.

"This new situation is particularly worrying and highlights the failing of the original investigations made," she said.

"At the time, the Liberal Democrats questioned the veracity of the report of trips abroad. We questioned its accuracy, especially surrounding the costs of the now leader of Council's trip to Stockholm.

"The admission that this trip to Stockholm cost almost £1,200 must be a painful one for the leader of the Council to make."

The officers' report shows several mistakes over other trips - but they had been reported as costing more than they actually did.

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