I SHOULD like to thank Bury's Executive member for lifelong learning, Councillor Maggie Gibb, for her reply to my letter (September 3).

It still remains that in spite of the most "intense scrutiny" cited by the councillor, the Strategic Review of Primary Schools process did -- in the opinion of many people affected by it -- break council rules.

Forty-eight elected councillors, in accordance with the council's own constitution, should have had the right to vote on the extra budgetary expense resulting from the closure and amalgamations programme. But this right appears to have been denied them.

My point remains the same: the Conservative councillors Bob Bibby and Jim Taylor were hauled over the coals by this Labour council for allegedly breaking the rules, however common the knowledge was of their particular "interest". And yet, the previous Labour Executive would appear to have also broken the rules, but got off scot-free. This smacks of double standards and is therefore wrong.

The question the Labour Executive needs to answer is this: did they go against their own constitution and deny 48 councillors the right to agree or disagree with the extra budgetary expense? If so, did it break the rules?

PINOCCHIO