WITH reference to Cllr Carbin's letter in last week's Wiltshire Times, I would wish to correct his comments as the Lib Dems unlawfully deprived my group of its seat on the district council's policy committee.

They backed down only after the High Court had given leave for a judicial review not after threats of action. Proceedings were issued only after clear and repeated warnings to the council were all ignored.

They then took the best part of a year to settle the action despite specialist counsel's advice that they had broken the law.

When they finally did settle in July of this year, just days from the hearing, it was on terms available to them eight months earlier except the costs of both sides had risen substantially. They paid up but goodness knows what the cost of all this was to council taxpayers.

TONY PHILLIPS,

West Wiltshire District Councillor