FORMER Lord Provost Lesley Hinds was today accused of hypocrisy in the row over her successor's controversial proposed visit to India.
George Grubb has come under pressure to give up his business class ticket after councillors approved the £6000 taxpayer-funded trip by him and his wife to the Kolkata Book Fair in January.
But SNP deputy council leader Steve Cardownie claimed Coun
cillor Hinds was misleading people when she said she always flew economy class on official trips when she was Lord Provost.
He said she had specifically asked for her and her husband to be upgraded to business class when they travelled to South Africa two years ago.
Councillor Cardownie said: "It's a long journey and if she wanted to go business class I can understand it – but people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones."
He said Cllr Hinds seemed to have a selective memory.
"After permission was given by the Labour executive committee on August 1, 2006 to her, her husband and two officials to visit the Homeless World Cup in Cape Town, travelling tourist class, she sought and was given approval from a senior council official for both her and her husband to upgrade to business class at the cost of £2068.20 each.
"The two officials who accompanied them were confined to the back in economy class."
Labour tried unsuccessfully earlier this week to block the five-day visit to Kolkata, formerly Calcutta, by Councillor Grubb, his wife Liz and an unknown number of officials, arguing that spending thousands of pounds on a non-essential trip in the current economic climate sent out the wrong message.
But Cllr Cardownie said he believed the visit was more justified than Cllr Hinds' South African trip in 2006.
He said: "We had hosted the Homeless World Cup the year before in Princes Street Gardens and she was invited over for the next one.
"It was just handing over a flag or something and they added on a visit to a school in Durban.
"I think the current Lord Provost has more of a claim this time."
The Kolkata Book Fair is the biggest fair of its kind in Asia. A Scotland pavilion, which is expected to attract 50,000 visitors every day, will feature exhibitions by the Edinburgh City of Literature, the National Galleries and the Edinburgh International Book Festival.
A replica of Edinburgh Castle is also being built as the entrance to the Scottish Pavilion.
The British Council is paying for the Lord Provost's accommodation and the council is to ask it to help fund the travel as well.
Cllr Hinds said that she did not remember the exact details of the flight to South Africa and did not have the information to hand.
She said: "I don't want to get into this mud-slinging.
"All I know is I always looked at trips and got the best deal possible."
The full article contains 492 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
