The longer Wandsworth Council keep their heads in the sand about their audit committee councillor and a missing  £20,000 from Tory coffers, the murkier the cover up looks. So far Robert Morritt has claimed that the blank cheques he was writing to himself were for his “expenses”. That excuse cannot work all the time though…

As Guido understands it, Wandsworth Conservative Group has a detailed system in place for the purchase of stamps. This system, which involves cheques being signed by two signatories and presented with a special guarantee card, has been used for years. In the first five months of 2008 WCG forked out some £20,000 for stamps in the normal manner. Why then did Morritt himself claim a further £5,000 during this period to purchase stamps on WCG’s behalf?

On 26 February 2008 a cheque was written to Morritt for £2,000, apparently to buy stamps, while on 2 April he was paid another £3,000 for the same reason. £2,000 worth of stamps were bought using the regular method on 20 February – six days before Morritt’s first purchase – while another £1,000 worth were bought on 31 March, two days before his second cheque was issued. Why were so many stamps needed in such a short space of time? Why did Morritt deviate from the standard procedure and buy the stamps himself, with no counter-signature? When are Wandsworth Council going to stamp down…

See also:

• Justine Greening’s Agent in Addison Lee Fraud Mess
• Wandsworth Tory Auditor in Voodoo Accounting Mystery
• More Questions Over Morritt’s Missing Money
• Morritt Pocketed Election Deposit Dosh
• Wandsworth Tories Demand Guido “Desist” 
• The £20,000 Question for Wandsworth Conservatives
• Wandsworth Gags Councillors Over Tory Fraud