AN extraordinary meeting of Minehead Town Council was dramatically halted after only two minutes on Wednesday evening after Cllr Terry Venner claimed that the proceedings were illegal.

The council had been due to discuss a report from its external auditors which had criticised the authority over its handling of the dismissal of a council employee.

Cllr Venner said: “We don’t have a qualified clerk present so we would be breaking the rules and it would be a complete sham and make the whole thing a mockery. If you carry on with it, I will not be staying at this meeting.”

Following the resignation of the previous town clerk, Sue Sanders, no replacement was present at the meeting.

When former mayor Cllr Jean Parbrook challenged him to quote the specific standing order which would prevent the meeting taking place, Cllr Venner said he was unable to do so because he had not “envisaged such a situation”, but Cllr John Malin said the matter was covered by the 1972 Local Government Act.

The new mayor, Cllr Norman Hercock, suspended the meeting which, he said, will now take place on Friday, June 22.

The Bristol-based external auditors, Grant Thornton, had recommended that the matter should be discussed at a public full council meeting and that the council should consider what action it should take to regularise the position concerning the ex-employee and formally approve payments to him.

But a statement from the council declared there would be no debate or questions on the matter because the situation had already been resolved.

After the meeting, Cllr Venner called for Cllr Parbrook to “do the honourable thing” and resign from the town council.

Full report in tomorrow’s Free Press