CHARD Town Council has laid down the gauntlet to former Mayor Tony Prior and told him he should go to the police if he has any evidence to back up his claims that the authority is “corrupt.”

Cllr Prior infuriated colleagues at a special meeting of the council in April in which he branded the authority “incompetent, corrupt and crooked to the core.”

The meeting was held to discuss the findings of a report from external auditors, chartered accountants Moore Stephens, following their audit of the council’s accounts for the financial year 2010-11.

Moore Stephens found that nearly £130,000 had been spent without proper authorisation, though it was stressed that there was nothing financially irregular about the expenditure and it was purely about accountancy trails.

But Cllr Prior seized the opportunity to criticise the council despite the obvious offence caused to a number of councillors.

Re-elected Mayor Cllr Cathie Morrison said at last week’s council meeting she had been “hurt” by his comments. “I don’t like to think I’m corrupt,” she said.

Cllr Morrison described the auditor’s findings as merely “failing to dot the i’s and cross the t’s”, and said any evidence Cllr Prior might have to back up his comments should be taken to the police.

The council took legal advice about Cllr Prior’s accusations after the special meeting on April 24, and town clerk Sarah Robson had written to him telling him it should be a police matter.

Cllr Martin Wale, re-elected chairman of the council’s finance committee, last week tried to get the minutes of the special meeting amended to include a disclaimer stating that the council disassociated itself with Cllr Prior’s comments.

Though councillors shared Cllr Wale’s sentiments they felt it would be wrong to add into the minutes of the meeting something which was suggested in hindsight and not said during the meeting.

Cllr Wale withdrew his suggestion, but the details have now been included in the minutes for the council’s full meeting from last week.

“I just want to safeguard the position of this council,” he said.

Cllr Prior told the News on Tuesday he had NOT been to the police, but he was drafting a detailed response to the letter he received from Mrs Robson.