Ben Bradley says he "fully" stands by a claim he made about free school meals in London - despite the city's deputy mayor saying it isn't true. Councillor Bradley, the Conservative MP for Mansfield and Leader of Nottinghamshire County Council, claimed in a September meeting that London's free school meals programme was funded by the controversial ULEZ scheme.
In arguing against the plan being introduced in Nottinghamshire, Councillor Bradley repeatedly said London's scheme was funded by ULEZ, which sees drivers of vehicles not meeting certain emissions standards paying a £12.50 daily charge. That claim has now been rebuffed in a letter from Shirley Rodrigues, the Deputy Mayor for Environment and Energy in London.
Reacting to the letter, Independent Councillor Francis Purdue-Horan said: "Councillor Bradley lied to Nottinghamshire County Council in a full council meeting on September 27. He knew that. We knew that. He has since repeated this lie and we thank the Deputy Mayor of London for setting the record straight. Ben Bradley managed to turn a vital debate about child poverty into a debate about ULEZ.