COUNCILLOR Heath claims that the reason that I would not serve in a Cabinet led by her is because I dislike her.

Don't flatter yourself, Mrs Heath; my reasons are neither as trivial nor as frivolous as mere clashes of personality.

Your administration certainly needs an opposition. I can best serve my constituents by doing all I can to provide a vigorous and effective one.

Mrs Heath then goes on to suggest that I cannot stand the heat of Blobbygate. What nonsense! I have every confidence in the District Auditor's inquiry.

The public will soon find out which of us has been the more open and truthful about the Blobby affair. As she says: "The truth will always find a way out."

Cllr Ian Barker Derwent Road Lancaster

What's this 'more open' stuff? Surely you are either open or not? -- Ed

YOUR correspondent "Public Servant" is wrong to suggest that I defended overspending of £2 million on Salt Ayre. What I did defend was the audit report on that overspend - an important distinction that "Public Servant" ignores.

In my view, the audit report was a thorough piece of work. It provided a coherent explanation of the overspend and recommended improvements to financial controls of large capital projects. On behalf of the Labour Group, I suggested that these changes needed to be implemented quickly. I also suggested additional changes to financial regulations beyond those in the report.

The MBI administration delayed making the necessary changes. They cited "unanswered questions" in the audit report. When challenged, they were unable to state what these questions were. Changes were only implemented after the Council was criticised by the District Auditor for the delay.

"Public Servant" should know my position since (s)he and I have crossed swords on this matter before. (S)he may disagree with my assessment of the audit report; that does not excuse the deliberate distortion.

Cllr Ian Barker

Deliberate distortion eh? Can't speak for the MBI or public servant but this paper has challenged you and your party colleagues many times about (mis)spending our cash and public accountability over the years -- can't say I recall a satisfactory, straight answer on many occasions. And although you may not have defended the overspend did you take any steps to ensure it stayed within budget when this paper predicted it was heading for financial adversity? Another story practically ignored by our rivals... I wonder why --Ed.