BLACKBURN with Darwen Council's new leader has lifted the lid on a row which threatened to rip the town hall apart.

Coun Kate Hollern described the "shocking" rift which led to six of her former colleagues quitting the Labour benches to form their own independent group.

Preparing herself for at least two years at the helm of East Lancashire's biggest authority, Coun Hollern promised to restore stability to the council chamber and the borough.

Coun Hollern, who was voted in to replace ousted former leader Sir Bill Taylor, revealed how Blackburn MP Jack Straw was instrumental in getting the six defectors to back her plan for power.

The 49-year-old Scot said she and her Labour colleagues had resigned themselves to a spell in opposition before the Foreign Secretary's intervention.

Mr Straw has remained tight-lipped about his involvement and, when asked, simply said he was confident a solution would be found.

But there has always been a suspicion he "pulled the strings", and Coun Yusuf Jan-Virmani, leader of the independent group, described him as "the main man" who helped Labour regain control.

"Jack Straw had a number of meetings with the six defectors. They made allegations against members of the Labour Party. He listened to them and said he would investigate," said Coun Hollern.

Party bosses have instigated an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the defections, but Coun Hollern claims she knows what persuaded five of the independents to vote her party back in.

She added: "They came under a lot of pressure, not only from Jack Straw but also the community. I think they were shocked by the reaction of the Evening Telegraph and from its readers who wrote letters.

"Once they saw that, they knew they made a mistake."

Coun Hollern first came to Blackburn from her Dumbarton home 27 years ago. She was first elected as a councillor nine years ago and is only the borough's second female leader.

The events of last month were, she said, among the most testing of her political career. She has promised education will be her number one priority.

Earlier in the year two secondary schools were placed in special measures after inspectors found they were failing pupils.

That, according to Coun Hollern, is something which must never be repeated. "Get education right and everything else follows," she added. "If we have well-educated youngsters they will get good jobs, live in good homes and be proud of their borough."