The row in Luton Town Hall over the costs of the Olly Murs and The Wanted concerts held in July is still rumbling on. The Council budgeted to sell 20,000 tickets at the full price of £30 to raise £600,000. Following the revelation that the Council sold only 5,687 tickets, fewer than half of them at the full price, Liberal Democrat councillors are now complaining that eight weeks after the Love Luton Festival the Council says it still does not know how much the events cost.

“I am very pleased the two paid for concerts went off well and were enjoyed by lots of people,” says Liberal Democrat leader David Franks. “It is not so pleasing to see that Council Tax payers will now have to pick up the bill for the failure of the Council to organise the festival properly and that eight weeks after the events they still don’t know what the final bill is.”

“I have been asking for this information for ages, the Scrutiny Board called for a full report to be given at its meeting scheduled for 31st August but now the Council says the information will not be ready in time. I understand the complexity of the accounting tasks involved but I cannot accept that the figures for an event which ended on 9th July have still not been added up eight weeks later.”