Attleborough Town Council meeting descends into Agatha Christie whodunnit

It was a scene that would make a fitting denouement for an Agatha Christie whodunnit.

With all 14 of his former colleagues on Attleborough Town Council assembled and attentive before him, Nigel Thwaites delivered his accusation with a dramatic flourish.

“Someone around this table lied to all of you,” he said.

Mr Thwaites – who stepped down from the authority last month – delivered his chilling denunciation as he returned to its first meeting since his resignation to ask a question as a member of the public.

His apparent aim was to unmask the culprit he believed had leaked confidential information from previous meetings, an issue which had caused him to resign in protest.

“Last month, I stood down from this council on personal grounds, of integrity,” he told the assembled members. “Someone around this table leaked confidential information.

“Then, when they were challenged, someone around this table lied to all of you and didn’t step down.

“What are you doing about it? That one person has destroyed the trust I had in this council.”

Like the most skilled of sleuths, Mr Thwaites then toyed with his audience.

“It doesn’t take a genius to figure out who it would be,” he added.

Alas for onlookers and fans of whodunnits, Mr Thwaites then left the gallery in suspense, returning to his seat without revealing the identity of the accused.

It was left to Andrew Westby, the town mayor, to respond, saying, in the best traditions of baffled witnesses: “I’m not sure what we can do, to be perfectly honest.”

Another councillor, Taila Taylor, suggested a formal complaint could be made to the monitoring officer at Breckland Council, but said councillors would have a ‘very difficult time’ proving who the culprit was.

The strange scenes, at a meeting on Monday night, are the latest in a series of bizarre episodes in which Attleborough Town Council has been embroiled in recent months.

The authority has been in the headlines as a result of an extraordinary feud with residents, who have criticised a series of unpopular decisions.

Its meetings have descended into shouting, insults and accusations flung between councillors and residents, who Mr Thwaites believes are being leaked sensitive information.

At a recent meeting, the clerk Sharon Smyth told all councillors to put their phones in the town hall kitchen because of suspicions one of them had been bugging confidential parts of council meetings, which take place after the public are asked to leave.

Mr Thwaites, who became a councillor, left that meeting and the council after the discussion about removing mobile phones, apparently in annoyance at the suspected breach.

The recent tensions between locals and the council have seen the town nicknamed ‘Aggroborough’ and ‘Battleborough’.

They have reached a boiling point at recent meetings, with discussions descending into heckling and calls for resignations.

There has also been criticism of councillors over non-council activities, including their business dealings.

Several social media pages have been set up to lambast the authority for what critics say is its reluctance to address complaints.

However, councillors argue they are being unfairly targeted in what they describe as a ‘campaign of hate’.

During a recent meeting, Ms Smyth said councillors had experienced members of the public banging on their windows and doors, had their car headlights smashed and been called offensive names in the street.

But the latest meeting of Attleborough Town Council seemed to suggest tensions were abating, with far fewer voices raised and discussions more focussed than in recent weeks.