A RACE watchdog group which has been rocked by the resignation of its chairman in a £22,000 job controversy last night held a two hour meeting at which the subject was never once raised.

The Blackburn with Darwen Racial Equality Council held its annual meeting at the town hall days after the resignation of Coun Mohammed Khan as its chairman, after he was offered and took a £22,000-a-year job in the organisation despite his position.

Coun Khan was not present at last night's meeting and his name had been withdrawn from the list of candidates for elections to the executive committee of the body.

Earlier this week he also resigned as chairman of Blackburn with Darwen Council's housing committee after admitting he made "errors of judgement" during the affair.

Coun Dave Hollings, who was vice-chairman of the housing committee and sat on the selection panel which chose Coun Khan for the £22,000 job of harassment supervisor, was also absent from the meeting.

But one of the other members of the selection panel, Pat Maudsley, a Labour Party women's officer, issued a statement to the Lancashire Evening Telegraph.

She said she acted in good faith and to her best understanding of all the procedural requirements of interviewing, adding: "The Panel were unanimously agreed that Coun Khan was the most suitable candidate.

"There was no consideration given to the possibility that Coun Khan would be prohibited from applying for, or being appointed to, the post. "WhiIe I accept, with hindsight, that there may have naivety and errors of judgement, I reject strongly the implication that there has been evidence of bad faith, connivance or corrupt practice.

"In my view this matter bears all the hallmarks of a McCarthy style witch hunt and those responsible for it should be ashamed of themselves."

Mrs Maudsley went on to criticise another of the panel members, former Labour Coun Abdul Piracha, who earlier this week told the Lancashire Evening Telegraph he had reservations about the selection procedure.

She said: "Mr Piracha did comment on his concerns about the fact that only three candidates had been interviewed, but at the panel vote he was happy to offer the post to Coun Mohammed Khan.

Members of the REC were addressed by Susie Parsons, the national chief executive of the Commission for Racial Equality.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.