THE hitherto-coy Conservative group on Blackburn with Darwen Council shows its mettle and principle at last - and acts over the case of Councillor Edna Arnold by booting her into limbo.

By her arrogant silence, she evidently felt no need to account for her actions when she presided at the interview panel which illicitly offered her council colleague, Coun Mohammed Khan, a £22,000 job with the town's Racial Equality Council at the time when he was still chairman of it.

At least, in the ensuring row, Coun Khan did the half-decent thing by resigning as chairman of the council's housing committee. And so did his deputy, Coun Dave Hollings, who was also on this dubious panel.

But we have waited long for Coun Arnold to explain.

She would not and so, quite rightly, deserves the fate the Tories have aptly delivered - that of being made a political pariah.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.