Len Thomas is the husband of Councillor Linda Thomas, deputy leader of the Labour group.

He recently wrote to The Bolton News as Chairman of the Local Government Committee. This is a Labour Party organisation and he should apologise for giving the impression that this is an independent body.

He said a resident of Tonge Moor had received a letter from the Conservative Party with the postage paid by the council.

A report by the council's director of legal and democratic services says there is no evidence to support this claim.

There is evidence that the envelope was one of a batch sent by the council's election office to postal voters. From the numbering on the envelope, the council's own tracking system shows that the findings are indisputable and confirm there is no evidence that the envelope included a Conservative Party leaflet.

The Labour Party and Mr Thomas should apologise for implying in his letter and in an earlier press report that the Conservative Party and Councillor David Greenhalgh had acted improperly or misused public money. There is certainly no evidence of fraud, as was implied.

As there is no evidence of any wrongdoing by Conservatives, the apology on behalf of the Labour Party should be to the Conservative Party and Councillor Greenhalgh, and to the public.

He should now completely retract any inference of fraud. He must also confirm that, as there is no evidence of wrongdoing, the Labour Party has no reason to refer the matter to the Electoral Commission or Standards Board. I believe there is sufficient evidence for the Conservative Party to reserve that right. Having examined the details of Labour's allegations, I found no evidence of wrongdoing and am pleased the legal director confirmed this.

Sadly, some judged this before the facts were known. It was either a genuine error and someone got the envelope confused with another or it was deliberate mischief.If the latter is so, politics in Bolton has been debased.

Cllr John Walsh OBE Conservative Group Leader Bolton Council