COLUMNISTS rarely bite the hand that feeds them, so the following is simply to avail my dear readers of a couple of facts.

An issue which raised some ire last month among protestors at Shire Hall regarding the Council Tax cuts debate concerned the lunch enjoyed by a handful of councillors.

Opposition members and union representatives lambasted councillors for washing down their lunch with wine prior to returning to the chamber.

To put the record straight, I’m told only 20 of the 69 councillors pay �14.88 from their annual allowances to have wine with the meals at the authority’s bi-monthly meetings.

Many councillors opt for sandwiches. Those that don’t would have enjoyed a lunch that included seafood quiche and Stilton-stuffed mushrooms.

No cost is involved to the council and outgoing leader Jill Tuck believes councillors would only have half a glass or one glass of wine at most.

And since a council spokesman pointed out that “meals and wine are also enjoyed by guests, including members of the media”, I have nothing further to add to the debate.