A POLITICAL row has broken out after it emerged the senior Conservative politician left in charge of Kent County Council while his leader takes part in a vintage car rally is also out of the country.

Deputy leader Cllr Alex King (Con) has been KCC's acting leader during the five-week absence of Paul Carter, who is taking part in a rally from Beijing to Paris.

But Cllr King, along with a group of nine council officials and others, is in America for a folk and crafts festival in Washington the county council has ploughed £250,000 of taxpayers' money into as a sponsor.

In his absence, the reins have been passed to Cllr Keith Ferrin, KCC's cabinet member for highways. He admitted: "I think it would have been better if they were not [out of the country] but I do not think it matters a great deal."

But the opposition Labour leader said he was aghast. Cllr Mike Eddy said: "I would have expected Cllr King to stay put. That is the point of being a deputy - it is your job. Nobody has bothered to tell us what the chain of command is and who is in charge."

But Cllr Ferrin brushed aside the complaints. "They are both back on Monday and we can carry on without them. I do not think it is a big deal personally. If there are any serious issues, I can be contacted quickly."

Cllr King has defended KCC's decision to be a key sponsor of the Smithsonian Festival.

"The economic benefit will far outweigh what has been spent on this. The reality is you have to speculate. This is a small risk in order to get a lot of economic benefit and it is the people of Kent in tourism, in business who will benefit."