CRITICS are calling for the head of a top Labour councillor following the following the failure of a drug help group.

Liberal Democrat Mozaquir Ali says Eddie Fisk, the chairman of the council committee which backed the collapsed Parents in Pain group, should resign and apologise to the people of Burnley for failing them.

But today Coun Fisk said there was no question of resignation and he had nothing to apologise for.

A secret town hall report criticised the council for not making proper checks on the organisation - which offered help and advice to the parents of drug abusers - before handing out £19,032 in council and Safer Cities cash.

The group collapsed in December just months after getting the money and amid mounting criticism that it was not doing its job properly and the money was not being well spent.

Although there has been no evidence of any financial impropriety, Coun Ali says the district auditor should be called in to carry out a full investigation. He says a much-needed service is being denied the people of Burnley because of council incompetence.

He and supporters are calling for Coun Fisk's resignation as committee chairman.

Furious Coun Ali is also demanding a personal apology from Coun Fisk over a letter he received from the town hall accusing him of leaking a private council report on Parents in Pain to the Press.He denies the charge and says he merely commented on an issue of public interest.

He said: "My comments were not motivated by malice but by justice and fair play.

"I am justified in my action by the fact that the application was mishandled from the outset and personal judgement outweighed proper consideration of what started as a minor grant application."

Coun Fisk said today the letter was sent to Coun Ali because of information received. He added: "I am not calling him a liar. Parents in Pain did a marvellous job - the great pity is it is not still operating, but that is not the council's fault."

Labour leaders tried to track down the mole who leaked the damning Parents in Pain report to the Lancashire Evening Telegraph.

Coun Fisk and even council leader Kath Reade approached Telegraph journalists in a fruitless search for a name, and a senior council officer tried to "fish" for information.

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