NOS News•
Minister Weerwind goes through the dust because of the private use of his official car during the period that he was mayor of Almere. “It was a stupid mistake on my part, I should have applied the rules. I’m going to fix this properly.”
“I thought I was coloring within the rules,” said the Minister for Legal Protection this morning before the start of the Council of Ministers. “But that is not the case. I should have known the regulations and that is why I now take full responsibility.” He will reimburse what needs to be reimbursed and will “obviously” do so out of his own pocket.
According to the municipality of Almere, Weerwind made 5000 private kilometers between 2017 and 2021 with his official car with driver. Weerwind states that although 3700 of these kilometers were not related to his office as mayor, they were related to other positions he held, for example at the Het Vergeten Kind foundation and the Fietsersbond in Utrecht. “And they also paid” for the kilometers made.
He emphasizes that he has always passed on “neatly, transparently” to the municipality of Almere how many kilometers he drove with the official car and had also asked that the costs for private journeys be deducted from his monthly salary. “But that didn’t happen.”
