I REFER to your article in the 3 July edition of the Andover Advertiser – ‘Calls to investigate councillors’ absence’.

I am extremely disappointed to read an article which is so fundamentally flawed and incorrect in its content. In your article you have sought to link two entirely unconnected matters – attendance at full council with the staff pay award.

A simple check of the agenda for the full council meeting on 24 June would have shown that the pay award was not due to for consideration at all, as it was in fact approved at an entirely different meeting, the General Purposes Committee, on 17 June.

To make it clear, the General Purposes Committee is a committee of the full council and its decisions do not require council’s approval, and so it was not a matter upon which councillors were asked to decide on 24 June.

As if this was not misleading enough, the article continued by stating that Council staff have received a five per cent pay award. This is completely incorrect.

As you had already reported the previous week, the pay award for all council staff,not just the chief executive, was in actual fact half that amount. If you are going to choose to attack the council in print, I would be grateful if you could at least check your facts to ensure that they are correct, rather than writing grossly misleading articles.

Councillor Ian Carr Leader of the council