Dear Ed, THE “free” newspaper produced by Tower Hamlets council is actually paid for by taxpayers. Now it has reintroduced the council leader’s column to crow about all the Town Hall’s achievements

Dear Ed,

I AGREE with James Birkett entirely about the “free” newspaper produced by Tower Hamlets council actually paid for by taxpayers (East London Advertiser Letters, February 26).

The council paper has reintroduced the leader’s column to crow about all the Town Hall’s achievements.

It used to carry regular columns by our two MPs when they were both Labour, as well as the council leader and East London’s GLA member (both Labour).

Suddenly there was a rethink’ and the columns were all dropped. Why? Because one of the quartet had not only ceased to be Labour, but was one of its most acerbic critics—George Galloway.

Now, three years on, the Labour council leader’s column is back.

The rethink we need is why Tower Hamlets council taxpayers have to pay out so much money in these difficult times to support the only weekly council paper of its kind in London. If other boroughs can do without a weekly council paper, why can’t Tower Hamlets?

Elisa Cox

Gascoigne Place, Bethnal Green