Lib Dem leader Paul Elgood was way off the mark in his bizarre attack on David Panter (Letters, February 15).

The chief executive of any council is paid to deliver and, where necessary, explain the policies of the elected administration.

He or she should not engage in party political debate and Mr Panter has not done so.

Julie Burchill is not a politician - she is a well-paid journalist who continually attacks Brighton and Hove and its council in the national Press.

She appears unable to separate these attacks from her obsessive hatred of the Labour Party.

Mr Panter's piece very carefully side-stepped her political ranting and addressed the substantive issues - particularly the misinformation about Brighton and Hove City Council's grants budget.

The fact that he wrote with some style and humour is a credit to the man.

Councillor Elgood also continues to peddle the myth that money is being moved from community organisations into the arts.

As Voice Of The Argus on the same page said, "The council has already refuted the widely-publicised lie that community organisations lost out to arts groups by revealing it was the other way round."

This is a fact that no amount of Lib Dem rage will change.

-Ken Bodfish, Leader, Brighton and Hove City Council