RIBBLE Valley MP Nigel Evans is to be reported to the House of Commons by Clitheroe Town Council amid claims that he used parliamentary stationery to send out incorrect information and publicising the Conservative Party.

Coun Pat Rawson slammed Mr Evans's use of House of Commons stationery and postage to distribute information about Government plans to restructure parish councils, which she said was "not true".

She urged other members to back her recommendation to report the Tory MP to the Sergeant at Arms over his use of the notepaper to advertise a Conservative Party consultation over the future of the parish councils.

But Mr Evans said that he had not used the stationery for political gain and said that if councillors felt so strongly they should go ahead with a complaint, adding that he felt the move was a Liberal Democrat politically-orientated attack.

A meeting of the town council's planning, finance and general purposes committee resolved to send a strongly-worded letter to the House of Commons.

Coun Rawson said that the MP's use of the trademark portcullis-headed notepaper and the House of Commons postal service for political purposes or gain was not allowed.

And she added that Mr Evans was giving out wrong information in the letter and that he had previously been "rapped over the knuckles" for similar behaviour.

"The word Conservative is in it before you get to the bottom of the letter," said Coun Rawson.

The letter, addressed to the town council, details the "Government threat to abolish parish councils" and attached is a cutting from the Sunday Express.

In the letter, Mr Evans says the Government is considering whether to abolish parish councils and replace them with "neighbourhood forums". "Neighbourhood forums are meetings which any resident can attend to talk about local issues and make comments and suggestions about any council services. Their introduction would entail the end of representative democracy and would mean that the majority of local residents who are not able to attend these talking shops would lose their democratic voice," he added.

He goes on to say that the Conservative Party "strongly opposes the plans to abolish or weaken parish councils" and invites councillors and local residents to send him their views.

Today Mr Evans said: "I have not been rapped over the knuckles by the Commons authorities.

"It's rather sad that instead of taking part in an important consultation exercise they have decided to make a party political issue out of it. We are talking about less than £20.

"For five of my eight years as an MP, I have actually dipped into my pocket to pay for the cost of my office to the tune of several thousands of pounds."

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