A GROUP of councillors who resigned en masse over the behaviour of a colleague regularly return to the debating chamber and disrupt meetings, a parishioner claims.

Langport Town Council was thrown into chaos last summer when seven of its 12 members quit, accusing one councillor, Cllr Val Saunders, of "breaching confidentiality".

A by-election led to seven replacement councillors taking their seats on the authority, with Mrs Saunders chosen as chairman.

She had been accused of making public details of a behind closed doors discussion on selling the town's Hanging Chapel to the Freemasons, who had leased it since 1891 from owners Langport Town Charity, of which town councillors act as trustees.

A referendum of Langport residents overwhelmingly supported her for making the information public.

Mrs Saunders justified her actions by claiming the proposed sale was in the public interest, but she was reported to South Somerset District Council's monitoring officer for allegedly breaching the code of conduct by leaking an 'in camera' item.

The district authority ruled it was powerless to investigate, although it listed reasons why the town council could consider action against Mrs Saunders and should consider whether she should be offered "further education".

After current councillors decided not to take action against her, former councillors Janet Seaton, Julia Gadd and Anne Mitchell issued a statement.

They said: "Perhaps councillors might like to ask themselves what is the point in having confidential matters at town trust meetings in future.

"And if you were a tenant, what confidence would you have in any future negotiations regarding your tenancy with Langport Town Trust?

"Langport voters might like to consider whether this behaviour, both by Cllr Saunders and her councillor colleagues who condone it, meets the standards of conduct in public life we expect of our elected representatives."

Mrs Saunders said: "I'd most like for this whole business to be dropped now and for the council to be able to move on with all the exciting things we have got lined up.

"It's just a distraction which I'm sorry is dragging on."

But Greg Bown, who lives locally and attends meetings, said Mrs Saunders was justified in breaching confidentiality because the agenda item on the Hanging Chapel at the original meeting had been changed and the proposed sale was a matter of public interest.

He added: "None of the seven councillors who held the 'secret' vote to sell the chapel is a councillor today.

"But they regularly sit in the public gallery at town council/trust meetings, sniping, hissing and booing at every opportunity."