THE secrecy surrounding Tavistock Town Council and a long-running court case which cost ratepayers thousands could soon be blown apart, according to West Devon and Torridge MP John Burnett.

Mr Burnett was deluged by complaints from disgruntled Tavistock residents last year, outraged at the steep rise in their council tax — a consequence of the costly legal battle.

Now the MP has had a lengthy meeting with the district auditor and he is hopeful more information may be in the pipeline.

Mr Burnett thought councillors were as anxious as he is to have the full story in the public domain — but they say they have to remain tight-lipped because of a confidentiality clause.

Mr Burnett said: 'I believe an organisation or business is trying to shield its reputation by relying on this confidentiality agreement.

'This is public money and the public has every right to be informed on how it has been spent.

'From my enquiries I believe that no fault lies with the town council but they have been severely let down by some individual or firm employed to advise them.'

Mr Burnett said it was time to get the whole matter out in the open, as it had cost the ratepayers a 'considerable' amount of money.

'I am writing to the district auditor to formally request a full public interest report in accordance with section eight of the Audit Commission Act of 1998.'

Mr Burnett said the grounds for such a report lay in the council's accounts for the year ended March 31, 2000, which revealed a payment of £291,112 'which may or may not be recoverable'.

He said if the auditor decided to make such a report — and he was very optimistic he would — it would legally supersede any agreement signed by the council.

'I shall also be sending him samples of the dozens of letters I received expressing dissatisfaction in relation to the accounts of the council from 1999-2000.

'No business or organisation should be able to hide behind a confidentiality agreement of this nature when they are in receipt of fees from the public,' said Mr Burnett.

Cllr Judith Williams, mayor of Tavistock, said: 'I am just guided by our solicitors and that is all I can say.

'I have to remain silent, much to my annoyance, but that is the rule of the game, there is nothing I can do about it.'

The court case involving Tavistock Town Council ran for several years and was concerned with renovation work carried out on properties owned by the authority.

It meant that last year, the authority upped its precept by almost 400 per cent to cover legal fees and boost its reserves.

Councillors have never revealed the outcome of the case, although they have decided to set a considerably lower precept for next year, in an effort to 'pay back' the town's ratepayers.