OPPOSITION councillors today blasted Blackburn with Darwen Council's Labour leadership after they were refused the chance to discuss important issues in public.

The authority holds its quarterly council forum tonight and its eight ruling executive members will present reports for discussion, which detail the work of their relevant portfolios.

Under the old system, minutes from every meeting would go to council forum to be approved, giving councillors the chance to debate virtually everything the council had done in the previous three months.

But under the new system, only items mentioned in the reports can be discussed.

Conservative and Liberal Democrat councillors say they have effectively been gagged, claiming executive members only mention positive developments in their reports. But the leader, Coun Bill Taylor today refused to make his executive councillor more accountable. He said: "It is up to the executive members what they choose to include."

In tonight's reports, Coun Maureen Bateson, in charge of citizens rights and welfare rights, fails to make any mention of the continuing benefits backlog or the problems involving asylum seekers being sent to the borough -- just over a week after an asylum seeker was murdered in Blackburn.

Coun Mahfooz Hussain, in charge of education, does not mention plans for a Muslim faith school, despite the fact he described it as a 'massive decision' when it was put before executive board. It also caused a split in the executive board, with half abstaining.

Coun Andy Kay's regeneration report makes no mention of the delays to the statues in Church Street, but does mention on-street parking charges and plans to change dustbin rounds.

Coun Kate Hollern, in charge of leisure, does not mention her need to query the work of a group of consultants tasked with helping create a strategy for play space after councillors complained they had not been consulted. She does, however, mention that Darwen Tower has won a tourism award.

Conservative leader Coun Colin Rigby said: "The Labour group is doing its best to erode democracy. It is appalling that they haven't included issues which are so important because they fear some criticism."

Lib Dem leader Coun Paul Browne said: "We have been gagged. Free and open discussion is now dead and, instead, we have a Labour dictatorship."