A FORMER mayor banned from speaking at meetings of a Hampshire council for a further 12 months is refusing to be silenced.

Lymington and Pennington Town Council say Mike Thorp breached an earlier gagging order by trying to address the amenities committee.

The meeting was suspended for ten minutes amid threats to call the police.

Last night the town mayor, Cllr Michael White, pictured, said: “He started to speak as councillors came into the chamber and refused to stop.

“This sort of thing has been going on for years and it’s got to finish. We just can’t have this sort of disruptive behaviour.”

But Mr Thorp claimed the gagging order was unlawful and threatened to continue speaking out.

“I went to the amenities committee to see if the new council formed following the local elections would continue to impose something that’s not legal.

“When I started speaking there was uproar.

“If I try to speak at future meetings I suspect they’ll call the police or rush off to the council’s solicitors and try to take out an injunction against me.”

Mr Thorp is a former member of the council and one of its most outspoken critics.

Earlier this year he was banned from speaking at meetings for a year after being accused of abusing his position by making personal attacks on councillors and council officers. Now the ban has been extended until next June.

Members cited rules about the public participation period at the start of each meeting.

The rules say: “Members of the public have no legal right to speak at meetings of the council or its committees. When they are allowed to do so, it is considered a privilege.”

The former mayor came under fire from Cllr Doug Rogerson, chairman of the planning committee.

He said: “Rather than add value to democracy in Lymington, Mr Thorp, your continued interventions detract from the process pursued in this chamber.

“Please do the town a favour and use your energies in a more constructive way.”

Councillor Doug Rogerson said Mr Thorp should “do the town a favour” and use his energies more constructively.