Brum's queen of spin spent pounds 1,000 in one day on council credit card; 'This is an abuse of precious council funds...'.

Byline: BEN GOLDBY

A MIDLAND council's top spin doctor used a taxpayer-funded credit card to run up pounds 1,000 of expenses in ONE DAY at a luxury hotel. .

weekend away in Paris in March of public A Sunday Mercury investigation has found that City Council's " queen of spin" Debra Davis, 53, used the plastic to pay for pounds 568 of personal expenses, the council's rules.

She has been using the card to pay for fancy dinners, a trip to her native Canada, and a string of " events" at exclusive city nightspots.

In just one dayMs Davis, who reportedly earns a six- salary, spent pounds 1,024 of taxpayers' cash at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel in Toronto and a top in Montreal, during a trip to Canada.

She paid back the pounds 568 of personal expenses spent at Fairmont three months after the pricey trip. A spokesman confirmed that putting personal expenses on card was contrary to council rules.

Ms Davis is among a handful of senior officers at City Council who have been handed their own funded credit cards, giving them direct access to money for bill payments.

A Sunday Mercury Freedom of Information request revealed that the most expensive items claimed by Ms Davis were: A pounds 620 meal at the.

Michelin-starred Purnell's restaurant in Birmingham city centre in October 2007; A pounds 335 pre-Christmas.

bash at the exclusive Bar One Ten in Colmore Row in December 2007; A pounds 1,871 trip to To-.

ronto staying at the plush Fairmont Royal York hotel in June 2008; Flights and train tick-.

ets costing pounds 200 for a ' This is abuse weekend away in Paris in March 2009.

Last night Ms Davis told the Sunday Mercury that her expenses were "modest" and that her work offered taxpayers "value for money".

"Having worked in government in various capacities for 25 years, I am all too aware of the obligations of public officials and spending public money," she said.

"Part of my role is to find more efficient and cost-effective ways of communicating key messages to residents, businesses and target audiences both here and abroad.

"My department has to generate income from outside sources to help support some of our communications and marketing activities - providing value for money for the taxpayer.

"All my council related expenses are modest - extraordinarily so for the director of communications for the largest authority in Europe.

Any necessary personal expenses incurred were reconciled and reimbursed in full on my return."

A spokeswoman for the Taxpayers' Alliance last night slammed the cost of expenses at Birmingham City Council, and called for an internal audit of Ms Davis' spending.

"This is an out and out abuse of precious council funds," she said.

"We should be able to trust any of- ficer who is given such privileged and direct access to the public purse to demonstrate the utmost integrity and discretion.

"But looking at this list of purchases made on behalf of the people of Birmingham, it's natural for us to question whether this money has been used properly.

"As the recession deepens and the tax burden grows, it is vital of- ficials are reminded that this is taxpayers' money and not a bottomless pit of funds that they can draw upon at leisure." Expensive Ms Davis' total spending reached pounds 15,000 between March 2007 and March 2009, with her most expensive claims arising from a week-long trip to Canada in June 2008.

The council says her trip was intended to introduce Clive Dutton, the man in charge of Birmingham's regeneration, to contacts in Canada.

But the Sunday Mercury can reveal that Ms Davis ran up a pounds 138 credit card bill while Mr Dutton was still on official business in Chicago.

Canadian-born Ms Davis also treated a delegation from her homeland to a pounds 293 slap-up meal at Bank restaurant in Brindleyplace, Birmingham in November 2008.

Before joining Birmingham City

Council she worked as a special assistant to two former Canadian Prime Ministers - Pierre Trudeau, in the 1980s, and Jean Chretien, as a communications adviser, in the 1990s.

She also worked as Counsellor at the Canadian High Commission in London until 2001, when she set up her own communications consultancy.

Ms Davis claimed pounds 9,600 in "relocation expenses" in 2008, after taking up her role as director of communications at Birmingham City Council back in January 2007.

In September 2008, she claimed pounds 4,608 in relocation costs - almost two years after her appointment as the council's head of PR.

The city council says she has been allowed a total of pounds 20,000 in relocation expenses on top of her annual pay cheque.

A council spokesman said: "When Debra first took up the post she moved into temporary accommodation. Due to the heavy workload of her post it was not until late in 2008 that she had the opportunity to identify a more permanent home.

"She claimed less than half the maximum relocation limit of pounds 20,000 to which she was entitled." Last month, Ms Davis used her council credit card to fund a trip to

Caption goes here please 'All my expenses are

Paris as part of her role as a board member for a non-profit organisation called the Arab International Women's Forum.

Sources at the council claim she was also handed petty cash to fund personal expenses during the trip.

An insider said: "I'm aware that she requested 700 euros in cash in advance from council expenses for her recent trip to Paris. There was no reason for her to take it because, as far as I know, the trip had no connection to her work at the council." Asked about the petty cash payments, a Birmingham City Council spokesman said: "It is common practice that for foreign trips officers are allocated an element of local currency to enable them to make necessary payments for which a card may not be an accepted form of payment (ie taxis)..

"Officers are required to retain receipts for any such transactions and repay any unused money." He also said that Ms Davis' trip to Paris was part of essential work to promote better relations with the Middle East.

Stephen Hughes, the city council's Chief Executive, said: "Debra's expenses reflect her responsibilities for communications and international affairs. Part of her role is to network and make connections with people at home and abroad to raise the profile of the city council and Birmingham as a whole.

"In respect of personal payments made on her 'company credit card', this does happen on occasion and I am satisfied that she repaid the money in good time and that her accounts are settled." [e-mail]

CAPTION(S):

SLAP-UP: pounds 620 meal at Purnell's CONTROVERSIAL: Debra Davis spent over pounds 1,000 at the luxurious Fairmont Royal York Hotel, opposite, in Toronto