Mail on Sunday allegations rejected

The Mail on Sunday claimed that Fabian had just two members of staff so why did he need eleven laptop computers in four years.

Fabian has a laptop for his use and employs six members of staff, one in Westminster and five in Leeds who all have a laptop. Over the four year period in question, four computers have been replaced because of heavy usage. There are also has two desktop computers, one in Leeds and one in London.

All these computers are Apple Macs and are all linked directly to the server in the constituency office. A number of staff use these computers to work from home depending on their workload. This ensures a better service to all constituents.

The article also alleges that he worked for Apple before he became a Member of Parliament in 1997. Fabian Hamilton has never, ever worked for Apple.

The Mail on Sunday then goes on to say that he purchased electrical equipment including scanners, phones and cameras. All of these are used in his offices both in Leeds and London in conjunction with the office computer systems.

They accused him of excessive use of mobile phones and landlines over this four year period. He spent £15,000 on mobile phone bills over four years and £10,000 on landlines.

This equates to £300.00 per month on mobile phone bills for two mobiles, one for Fabian and one for his senior constituency assitant. This includes the cost of the calls, rental and VAT. As Fabian is a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee and travels abroad during the year, his mobile phone is used to keep in contact with his office if needed. In this context this bill is not excessive.

The landline bill of £10,000 is made up from three telephone lines and one fax line in our Leeds Constituency Office. This equates to £208.00 per month which again includes the cost of the calls, rental and VAT. Our telephone is heavily used by our staff to deal with Constituents casework and to contact our Westminster Office, various Ministerial Offices and outside bodies. This is not excessive.

This explains in detail the truth with regard to computers and equipment used in offices both London and in Leeds to provide the best possible service to constituents and refutes the misinformation printed by the Mail on Sunday.

The rest of the allegations in the article have already been covered by the Daily Telegraph and are already in the public domain.

Mr Hamilton is seeking legal advice with regard to the article printed on Sunday Juy 5th 2009.