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Under-fire councillor Donald Adey - who moved 400 miles away to Fife in Scotland - has broken his silence and says he will do the job via Skype.

Cllr Donald Adey spoke to the Dundee Courier about his move to Scotland and says right-wing England and the friendliness of people in Scotland were behind his move.

It would be a seven-hour drive for the Trumpington councillor to get to see his voters and attend council meetings after he moved to Cupar in Fife.

Cllr Adey recently resigned from the Liberal Democrats and sits as independent representing Trumpington on both the city and the county councils.

He need only turn up to a council meeting every six months to continue claiming about £4,500 in allowances from the city council and over £10,000 from the county council.

He insists he can do the job from his home 400 miles away and said he has already been doing casework from Scotland - but Labour has slammed this as "utter disregard and contempt for Cambridge residents".

Cllr Adey also took a swipe at the friendliness of people in the south of England.

He told the Courier: “I am quite confident that I can well cover the needs of the constituents there by using the internet, phone, Skype and such things.

“I’m not the only councillor that lives outside Cambridgeshire. There are others. I think one even spends most of their time in Singapore.

“I decided to move away primarily because of Brexit and the right wing nature of England. That was the biggest prompt.

“I will now stand as independent because it’s fairer than wearing a party label.”

He added: “Cambridge is lovely. I lived there for 30 years and I know the issues that are bubbling away there quite well.

“Moving away from the area doesn’t alter that knowledge level. I have been doing casework from here already.”

What if you need to contact councillor Donald Adey?

The Cambridge News has made repeated attempts to contact Donald Adey since the story of his move to Scotland broke in early May. He has not returned our calls or emails.

If you are a resident in Trumpington here are his contact details:

Skype: exciseman51

Mobile: 07949 038252

Email: donald.adey@cambridge.gov.uk or donald.adey@cambridgeshire.gov.uk

If you want to write to Cllr Adey you will have to send a letter to the Guildhall or Shire Hall as his address in Fife is not listed on the city or county council website.

'Donald Adey should resign immediately'

Councillor Kevin Price, Labour's deputy leader of the city council, has blasted Cllr Adey and called for his immediate resignation.

He said: "Councillor Adey's quotes in the Scottish paper show what utter disregard and contempt he has for Cambridge residents and his duty to represent them as an elected councillor on the city council.

"It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that he is doing this simply to retain his two allowances for the city and county councils but they really should not be used to fund his life in Scotland.

"I know that many in the city, and of course, in Trumpington will feel let down and cheated. He should resign his council seats.

"He already had a reputation for not doing a good job when he was on the council the first time and it's really sad that he was selected again by the Liberal Democrats and has now let down not just them but the whole of Trumpington which needs good representation from all its councillors on the city council.

"I hope the residents of Cupar are also wary of his threat to add a seat there to his collection."

Cllr Adey has attended just three out of the last 10 city council meetings.

The next elections for the county council will be in 2021 and his seat on the city council will be put to the public vote in two years' time as he was elected in 2016.

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He was elected to represent Trumpington on the county council in May last year (2017) with 1,116 people voting for him.

The councillor resigned from the Liberal Democrats on both the city and council councils in Trumpington before moving to Cupar at the end of February.

Cllr Adey's praise for his new home in Cupar

Cllr Adey praised his new home where he now lives with his husband.

He told the Scottish newspaper: “I came to visit Cupar twice and decided that it’s got the right feel to it because of the way people interact with you.

“When you go to get a cup of tea or a paper from the local shop, people actually talk to you. It seems the further south you go, the less people speak to each other.

“People in Cupar give you the time of day and say hello as you walk past.”

Mr Adey is originally from Greenock in Scotland and didn’t rule out the possibility of becoming a councillor in Fife.

A farewell party was held for the councillor at the church he attended in Cambridge.

The March newsletter from St Columba’s Church in Downing Street has a photograph of Cllr Adey’s leaving party.

The newsletter says: "New Home. Donald Adey, one of our elders and his husband, Ray Carlos, have left Cambridge to live at Cupar in Fife.

"In giving thanks for their friendship, we particularly thank Donald for his work as an Elder and as convener of the World Church and World Mission Group, and Ray for his operating of the sound system.

"We send warm good wishes as they settle into their new home."

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