TAXPAYERS have footed the hospital's legal bill during our campaign and health chiefs will not tell us what their fees came to.

When the News Shopper asked Darent Valley what their legal fees had come to we were told the hospital “could not breakdown” their solicitors' costs over the last year.

A Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust spokesman said: “The trust supported its chief executive as it would any other employee subject to attack for the performance of his/her duties. The board took the view that these two aspects required separate representation. It therefore decided the director of legal services should deal with the corporate issues and to employ outside solicitors to deal with the personal aspects. The cost of the Trust's legal expenses is published in its annual accounts.”