AS a paid council official, newspaper journalist and the editor of Bury Metro News, I am extremely disappointed that Councillor Roy Walker has publicly accused the newspaper of party political bias ("Top Tory reports council newspaper", Bury Times, May 21).

For Coun Walker to claim that Bury Metro News is biased towards this council's Labour group is simply defamatory.

For the record, Bury Council publishes a free newspaper to residents because a variety of agencies, ranging from the Audit Commission to the Local Government Association to central government itself, think it is a good way for modern local councils to communicate with citizens.

Bury Metro News is produced strictly in line with a national code of conduct on local authority publicity to which I strongly adhere and, indeed, as a non-partisan, paid, public official, wholeheartedly endorse.

There is no mention, as Councillor Walker asserts, of the Labour Party in Bury Metro News. That it features pictures of, and comments from, senior elected politicians of one particular group is merely a fact of political life: these are the people elected to make key decisions about the direction of the borough. Surely information published about those decisions is a matter of transparency and accountability as well as public information?

Bury Metro News is not a perfect product, and I am working hard to improve it. But it is not biased.

NEIL STERIO,

press and media liaison

officer, Bury Council.