THE 'Mr Blobby' fiasco was finally settled this week with the City Council handing Noel Edmonds' Unique Group £1 million of public money plus a humbling written apology. Despite a vitriolic war of words between Mr Edmonds and Council Leader, Stanley Henig, the final agreement includes an unreserved apology in which the council accepts it was totally to blame for the costly dispute. Councillors were told at a meeting on Wednesday that if they did not accept the settlement it could eventually cost millions more.

Independent councillors backed Noel Edmond's call for the council leader to accept responsibility for the fiasco and resign but he was supported by both Labour and Conservative members.

In the agreement the Council acknowledges that it should not have terminated the contract with the Unique Group or commenced legal proceedings to recover its investment in the failed Crinkley Bottom Theme Park.

The Council has also accepted that all the allegations made against Unique during the three-year legal battle were "unfounded" and that they "apologise for any adverse consequences the termination of the contract may have had."

The settlement flies in the face of Cllr Henig's repeated claims that the Council was right to terminate the deal and start legal proceedings.

He maintains that he acted in the resort's best interest throughout but, after such a bitter public row, the Council has swallowed humble pie and expressed it's "appreciation" at Unique's interest in Morecambe and acknowledges that they attracted people to the resort.

Independent councillor, Geoff Wilson, called for the Council Leader to resign and said: "Someone has to take responsibility for a fiasco which has cost local people well over a million pounds. In the settlement the Council admits it was wrong on each count so why has this been allowed to happen. The Independent group has nothing to apologise for. We voted to let Unique carry on to see if they could make a go of it. Who in their right minds makes 72 people redundant and closes down a business after just four months when they have put a small fortune into it?"

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