On Friday last I found myself surrounded in the main by councillors, in the county council chamber for a roadshow propagandising on behalf of the EU.

Presented by the East of England Assembly, a non-elected body that is directing, to a large extent, the way things will go in this part of the country in the next few years. During the presentation the chairman repeatedly spoke of her constant awareness that the money spent by councillors and suchlike has come from the taxpayer.

Now councillors get a fairly generous allowance, so why was it felt necessary for the "in-house" catering staff at County Hall to lay on a quite lavish buffet lunch for us all at no charge?

This is the second such meeting I have been to and each time the venue was in close proximity to reasonable pubs and decent restaurants where lunches could have been bought out of the allowances.

I don't suppose the cost represents a great proportion of my council tax, but it would be interesting to know the cost of "free" lunches in the course of a year and if all those jumped up windbags want a lunch at my expense then they should wait for an invitation.

Ron Hurrell
Hadleigh Park Avenue
Thundersley