Brighton and Hove's "peace messenger" has spent thousands of pounds of public money preaching harmony around the world.

Hangleton and Knoll councillor Brian Fitch's role has taken him to New York, Warsaw, Slovenj Gradec in Slovenia and even the Venezuelan capital Caracas.

He has racked up 33,000 air miles in two years and spent more on foreign travel than the combined councillors of Arun, Adur, Wealden, Crawley, Mid Sussex, Eastbourne, Chichester, Rother, Horsham, Hastings, Lewes and Eastbourne councils, according to figures released to The Argus under the Freedom of Information Act.

Questioned on the benefits of the trips to the people of Brighton and Hove, he said: "Since I have been on this organisation there hasn't been a world war so it is worth the cost."

Last night his political opponents said the city had seen little benefit from the junkets, which cost £3,500 in the 24 months to April.

Conservative, Garry Peltzer Dunn, said: "In my view it is very difficult to justify. I do not believe it is value for money and I do not see what it brings to residents."

Coun Fitch visited conferences organised by the International Association of Peace Messenger Cities (IAMPC) of which Brighton and Hove is a member.

He is the secretary-general of the organisation and was made a life member last year.

Lib Dem councillor Paul Elgood said: "I hope councillor Fitch is planting trees to reduce his carbon footprint.

"He doesn't seem to have had much luck bringing peace to the world. He would have been better off spending his time lobbying Tony Blair."

The IAPMC was formed in Verdun, France, in 1988 and claims to "firmly believe that municipal authorities have a profound responsibility to assume an active, creative role in establishing a culture of peace within their borders".

Coun Fitch made six foreign trips, excusing himself for up to a week at a time from his duties in Hangleton and Knoll.

Since the figures were released he has visited Volgograd in Russia and Vancouver in Canada.

The four-day Vancouver trip included an afternoon at a peace festival on Sunset Beach, an evening of music at a theatre on the Pacific coast and dinner at the Harbourside Renaissance Vancouver Hotel.

The event was almost called off at the last moment, when a new administration at Vancouver City Council decided the World Peace Forum was not worth the $50,000 cost.

Coun Fitch is leading a campaign in the UN to create a peaceful world, free from nuclear weapons and has been instrumental in getting other UK cities to join the IAPMC.

The organisation has also held a number of events in Brighton and Hove.

He said: "There is a fund for it and we have put the city on the map. They are certainly not junkets. I think we have influenced the UN as cities."

Coun Fitch was deselected earlier this year as Brighton and Hove's peace messenger and replaced by Green councillor Keith Taylor.

Coun Taylor said: "Clearly if I was going to do it, I would be wanting to come back with a bit more evidence of action. People think he hasn't been doing anything."