MORE than a thousand people have signed a petition against plans for a "secret cabinet" to run Blackburn with Darwen Council.

Liberal Democrat leader Coun David Foster presented the petition -- against decisions being made in private by only eight councillors -- to the full council last night.

He was twice shouted down by ruling Labour councillors when he criticised the consultation process which had approved the new structure and which included a focus group meeting.

After the Mayor, Coun Salas Kiani, told the Labour councillors to listen, Coun Foster said: "You can dismiss a thousand signatures, but these are real people who are willing to put their names to this, not an anonymous focus group." Liberal Democrats collected the signatures while canvassing for the local elections to be held on Thursday.

Labour Councillor Malcolm Doherty said the petition was meaningless. He said: "I can get people to sign petitions, we all can. It's very easy. If you tell them something that isn't a reflection of the facts, people will sign these petitions without knowing what it actually means."

He denied Labour was afraid of the approaching election and said: "Elections are not about one issue, they are about a whole range of policies and what the council is going to do."

In a Lancashire Evening Telegraph phone poll, 331 readers voted against the controversial proposals with only seven in favour. When asked, only half the Labour councillors were in favour, while the rest were against or refused to comment.