THE Tourism Department under Jane Seddon has done a marvellous job over the past few years since "Mr Blackpool", Barry Morris, retired.

With limited resources and a "down-sizing" of the job title, she has kept Blackpool on the nation's front pages against a tide of politically inspired bad news.

Now, if Mr Ken Coups is to be believed, her position has been usurped by an un-elected "consultant". So far as I am aware the post was never publicly advertised or put out to tender, even though he is being paid out of public money by the Blackpool Challenge Partnership of which Leader of the Council Roy Fisher is chairman.

Have the rules about council jobs been changed or is this yet another example of "jobs for the boys" under New Labour? Not "Tony's cronies" but "Roy's boys".

Over the last year the local media has left no doubt in anyone's mind that Mr Peter Moore's job was to prepare a masterplan for the regeneration of Blackpool.

Now Alan Cavill has told Mr Coups that that is not the case and Mr Moore is "promoting tourism". Every holiday trade business in town does that and we don't get paid £100,000 a year out of public funds to do it. Can the public be told the truth for a change? Just what is our regeneration money being spent on?

Mr Royston Newman, Osbourne Road, Blackpool.