Two former councillors have claimed the maximum possible allowance for the ten months they were in office despite only attending four meetings each. Bharti Gajjar and Chandni Mistry both claimed £12,168.25 according to Brighton and Hove City Council documents released on Friday.
The duo were suspended from the Labour Party in November last year and expelled in December over concerns about election irregularities around where Ms Mistry was living . Both have strong links with Leicester. While Ms Gajjar had a genuine address in Kemp Town, Ms Mistry was believed to be a medical student at the University of Lancaster.
No charges were brought against either of the women. Ms Mistry was a member of the now-defunct children, families and schools committee but did not attend any of the three meetings held before she was suspended and lost her place on it. Both former councillors were members of the now disbanded equalities, community safety and human rights committee and attended one of the two meetings held before they were expelled from labour.
They attended the annual full council meeting in May 2023, following their elections as Kemp Town and Queen’s Park councillors respectively, and the full council meeting in October last year but missed the July meeting. Following their expulsion from Labour the pair missed the December full council and sat as independents at the February meeting for less than an hour, leaving during the public engagement section before main business . Duri.