Sir.–You reported in last week’s Gazette that Conservative council leader Clive Sanders is angry because opposition councillors want a public law expert to analyse the decisions behind the Manydown land saga.

Cllr Sanders describes opposition councillors as being “self-indulgent” and accuses them of “seeking revenge”.

I’d just like to remind Cllr Sanders that it is his and his Conservative colleagues’ mis-management of the council that landed the council in the High Court over Manydown.

As a result of this, the council faces a huge legal bill, and two years of work by its officers was effectively thrown in the bin, leaving every green field in Basingstoke vulnerable to developers.

I think residents have a right to know how this situation came about, whether there are lessons to learn, and what mistakes were made, and that’s why I was glad to support the proposal that a relatively small amount of money is used to do this public law work.

If Cllr Sanders believes that this is being “selfindulgent” and “seeking revenge” then so be it, but thankfully the majority of councillors disagreed with him. –Cllr Laura James, Leader of the Labour Group of Councillors, Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council.

Sir.– Is this the utterance of the same politician who uttered the words in May 2012, in front of the full council, that no stone would be left unturned in efforts to get to the bottom of the causes of the council’s “irrational” and “unlawful” actions, when submitting the previous discredited Local Development Framework?

With no conclusions being drawn in the independent Ernst & Young report, the more appropriate words now seem “let’s sweep it under the carpet” so we can forget about it.

We, the local taxpayers, have a right to know who commissioned what a high court judge has said were the “unlawful” and “irrational” actions, which is costing us thousands more while the council attempts to produce yet another Local Plan.

Cllr Sanders is right in one respect that we, the electors, abhor wasting valuable taxpayers’ money – but we abhor even more the words and actions of elected officials, who forget that they are accountable for their decisions.

–Patrick Murphy, Bramley.