County councillors have voted down a controversial proposal to increase their travel expenses by nearly 50%.

But the decision to drop the idea may not spell the end of the matter, as the leader of Kent County Council suggested there should be a wider review of the issue of allowances and expenses.

The abrupt U-turn at a full council meeting yesterday came after the plans, revealed by the KM Group earlier this week, provoked a furious public backlash.

The option would have seen mileage rates for councillors' journeys to County Hall meetings and other formal events rise from 45 pence a mile to 66 pence a mile.

KCC set out the proposal after a ruling from tax inspectors that members should be paying tax on car journeys from their homes to County Hall.

But at a full council meeting, councillors overwhelmingly rejected the idea - even though at an earlier committee meeting a fortnight ago, it had been endorsed by the leaders of three of the four parties.

KCC leader Paul Carter (Con) accepted it would be inappropriate to take up the idea "at this time" and took a sideswipe at the media coverage.

"Whenever we increase allowances by one penny, the media have a field day...[about] snouts in the trough. The media need to help us get the message across to the public," he said

But one Conservative said the council had only itself to blame. Clllr Jeremy Kite, also the leader of Dartford council, said: "It is our fault, we should never have put it out there. None of us have covered ourselves in glory by the sounds of it."

Opposition UKIP leader Cllr Roger Latchford, who had initially defended the increase, also went into retreat.

"It was generally felt that members should not be disadvantaged by the HRMC rules. But my group cannot and won't accept the increase."

Liberal Democrat group leader Cllr Trudy Dean said the allowance for mileage was the one recommended by the AA.

"People keep telling me they are losing out [because of the HRMC] but they are not - and they have got away with it for the last six years."

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