THE district auditor has been asked to investigate Merseytravel chairman Mark Dowd’s spending on the transport authority’s credit card.

Cllr Dowd has come under fire for using the transport authority’s credit card to pay for his attendance at Labour party conferences, theatre tickets, and a trip to Alcatraz in the USA.

Merseytravel last night said all personal spending on the credit card had been reimbursed under a pre-existing agreement.

But that has not stopped critics questioning why such personal spending should be placed on a publicly-funded credit card, and why the taxpayer should pay for the Labour stalwart to attend his own party conferences.

The Barclaycard account, which senior Merseytravel executives also use regularly, has a monthly limit of £35,000.

Liberal Democrat leader on Merseytravel, Cllr Andrew Makinson, and Conservative Chris Blakeley have asked the district auditor to investigate the spending.

Cllr Dowd was not available for comment, but a Merseytravel spokesman said he was considering taking legal action against Cllr Makinson, alleging he had made “malicious and libellous claims”.