Navin Shah and Brian Coleman in row over London Assembly 'sacking' (From Harrow Times)

Navin Shah and Brian Coleman in row over London Assembly 'sacking'

1:10pm Tuesday 12th May 2009

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A TORY politician has piled into a London Assembly member who was demoted on a committee last week.

Councillor Navin Shah was bumped down from chairman to vice chairman of the Audit Panel, sparking a biting attack from rival Councillor Brian Coleman, London Assembly member for Barnet and Camden.

Cllr Coleman claimed: “Navin Shah should never have been trusted with the Audit Panel in the first place."

But Cllr Shah rejected Cllr Coleman's allegation that he had been sacked and insisted Labour and the Tories had always agreed there would be a Conservative chairman of the committee.

He said the only reason he took on the chairman's role last year was because the Tories did not put forward a nomination.

He also claimed Cllr Coleman's attack was in retaliation to the row that broke out last summer in which thousands of pounds of expenses claims for taxi rides were exposed.

He said: “Londoner’s would be better served if Cllr Coleman were to show some humility by apologising to Londoners for wasting their money by persistently incurring exorbitant taxi expenses.”

However Cllr Coleman denied there had been an agreement between Labour and Tories, and said he was “flabbergasted” when the Lib Dems nominated Tory Roger Evans as chairman.

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