A WAR of words between Hyndburn Council's leader and the borough's MP heightened yesterday as a strategy to pull the authority out of a financial crisis was unveiled.

Hyndburn Borough Council needs to make £1.8 million savings by the end of the year after spending too much money.

The cash crisis could result in an overspend equivalent to more than 16 per cent of the council's £11 million budget.

Coun Peter Britcliffe, Conservative council leader, yesterday announced at a council cabinet meeting the setting-up of a 'Budget Panel' of nine councillors to try and drag the authority out of its financial back-hole.

Both Labour and Conservative parties have pledged to work together to solve the crisis.

But Coun Britcliffe blasted Labour MP Greg Pope for comments he made earlier in the week about the leadership's responsibility for the crisis.

Coun Britcliffe said Mr Pope could have helped the council by appealing to Gordon Brown for more funds for the council instead of making negative comments on his leadership, which were reported in The Lancashire Evening Telegraph.

Coun Britcliffe blamed the crisis on the Government's funding of local authorities.

He said: "I am grateful to all councillors of all sides who have taken a responsible attitude for this. It's so easy to make cheap remarks and easy for councillors to score cheap political points.

"I was disappointed to read cheap remarks made by Hyndburn's MP. It would have far better if he had given this council a ring to ask how he could help.

"Instead of knocking on the local paper's door, it would have been better if he had gone to Gordon Brown's door asking for him to make up the short-fall in funding there is from this Government and has been from previous governments.

He added: "I am sorry Mr Pope, you get none out of 10 from me or anybody in Hyndburn in this matter. It's not too late for him to make an appeal to Government for the funds which the council needs."

The crisis results, among other problems, from overspending by the now-abolished Works Department in the council.

Other reasons for the debt include increased insurance premiums of £220,000, reduced market and industrial rents, early retirement costs of £300,000 and unbudgeted expenditure on support for leisure events.

The total overspend prediction is £1,812,800.

Mr Pope said: "He has still not answered the question that I put to him. The government funding for the council rose by twice the rate of inflation and the council tax went up as well. So how come we're in this financial crisis? There comes a time when people have to accept responsibility for what happened. It's a lesson that Peter has yet to learn.

"I am not running the council and neither is Gordon Brown. It is Peter Britcliffe and he needs to explain to the people of Hyndburn what has gone wrong."