A CRUNCH meeting to find a solution to Burnley Council's leadership crisis ended in stalemate after the British National Party stormed out.

Council group leaders met to discuss appointing a new leader and executive following the resignation of Stuart Caddy. He quit along with his executive members after control of the executive was taken from Labour's grasp.

But Coun Len Starr walked out of the showdown after opposition leaders refused to work with the BNP.

The leaders will meet again on Wednesday to thrash out a solution before a special council meeting to appoint a new leader and executive.

Coun Starr blasted Gordon Birtwistle and Peter Doyle, leaders of the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives saying they performed a U-turn after they relied on the BNP vote to oust Labour. He said: "They relied on our vote to get the Labour party out and now they say they don't want anything to do with the BNP.

"I saw no point been at a meeting when at the beginning the people there said they would not work with the BNP. They cannot have it both ways. I was not prepared to accept this so I left."

In a night of high drama last Wednesday the full council supported proposals for a cross party coalition. Motions passed included reducing the executive from nine to five, recommending the leader allocate each remaining member a portfolio for strategic objectives and appointment five non-executive members.

This prompted the resignation of Coun Caddy and four fellow Labour executive members.

Coun Birtwistle hit back saying the actions of the BNP had put Labour in a position of authority. He said the Lib Dems would stick to their guns and believed Labour would now give the BNP a presence on the executive.

Following June's elections, Labour held a minority administration with 21 members compared to the opposition's combined 24.

Now Coun Caddy said Labour will form an opposition group and they were meeting today to discuss the next steps.

He said: "Our main concern is we have political differences with the BNP and at this moment Labour are going to form an opposition party. We will have to see if any progress can be made on Wednesday."

Coun Doyle added: "We are working with officers to find a way forward. There will be more meetings and we will see where we go."