Game shame: LibDem councillor caught playing Scrabble in council meeting

Scrabble is addictive – the game does tend to cast a spell on you.

It’s latest victim? Richmond councillor Martin Elengorn.

The LibDem councillor was caught enjoying a game of Scrabble on his laptop in a council meeting where Tory deputy leader Geoffrey Samuel was making a speech .

An unknown attendee at the meeting spread the word about Elengorn’s play with words.

However, Elengorn isn’t at a loss of words being caught.

His defence? He was trying to kill time as other councillors squabbled.

He said: “The only way of making it through Councillor Samuel’s bombastic boasts is to try and distract the mind.

“Unfortunately, I am capable of doing two things at once and every word registered.

“I don’t think I was the only one playing games, but I won’t name names.”

He also told the Standard: “ “No one is too upset, but the whole affair has rather put me off Scrabble.”

John O’Connell of the TaxPayers’ Alliance has called for an apology.

He said : “Taxpayers will be shocked. Can you imagine the reaction in a private company if an employee sitting in a business meeting was playing computer games?

“Councillors receive a hefty allowance to represent the views of their constituents and to hold the council to account – neither of which are achieved by playing scrabble. Voters deserve an apology.”