B URNLEY MP Peter Pike showed an admirable sense of priorities when invited to Ewood Park last Saturday to celebrate 25 years of close friend Jack Straw's representation in Parliament of Blackburn.

He didn't go but instead went to Turf Moor, home of his beloved Clarets.

Mr Straw's celebration of his quarter century representing Blackburn at his own favourite football ground clashed with an appearance by Burnley fan Alastair Campbell, former Press Secretary to Tony Blair, at Burnley's home ground.

Mr Campbell was raising money for Burnley Labour Party and Leukaemia Research, for which he ran in the London Marathon, following a similar appearance at Turf Moor where he helped raise £80,000 to save Burnley Football Club.

Mr Pike wrote to Mr Straw to say he regretted not being able to attend his 25th anniversary because of a clash of event.

But he added: "I will feel more comfortable at Turf Moor than I would do at Ewood Park."

Ouch!

EAST Lancashire MPs Janet Anderson and Greg Pope are absolutely livid with Labour colleague David Chaytor for staging a special Commons debate on merging Bury and Rossendale Councils without telling them.

Mrs Anderson's Rossendale and Darwen constituency covers most of the borough, and the Haslingden end belongs to Hyndburn's Mr Pope.

Mrs Anderson, who found out about the half-hour debate at the very last minute, said: "I am furious. David ought to inform me about any debate that affects my constituency."

Mr Pope said: "I am very angry. It's not what is supposed to happen at Westminster, and then instead of speaking for 15 minutes, when he knew we wanted to make our views known, he spoke for a total of 23 minutes leaving us very little time to put our point.

"However, we made it clear to the minister Chris Pond we were strongly opposed."