The Tories have hit back at Labour plans to boycott Battle of Medway events in protest at planned Sure Start closures.

Labour councillors Vince Maple, Teresa Murray, Adam Price and Andy Stamp last week announced they would not be accepting any civic invitations to events marking the 350th anniversary of the Dutch Raid.

This was after the council voted to begin consultation on plans which included the preferred option to close the 19 Sure Start centres across the Towns and create larger “super hubs”.

An open letter sent to council leader Alan Jarrett accused the overview and scrutiny committee of ignoring expert opinion and rubber-stamping the consultation exercise “without much overview, or indeed any scrutiny”.

The letter stated it would be inappropriate for Medway Labour councillors to accept any civic invitations to Battle of Medway events in the light of public anger over the “Tory group’s decision to spend £60,000 of savings from the children’s budget on fireworks to mark what was a catastrophic defeat by the Dutch navy”.

But this week Cllr Jarrett responded with his own open letter to Labour leader Cllr Maple, in which he said the Labour group had “plumbed new depths”.

He wrote: “Your blatant attempts to skew the consultation exercise being carried out on the future of our children’s centres risks us seeing an unrepresentative response to what ought to be a fair and open consultation to establish the genuinely held views of service users.

“Instead we see once again a consultation exercise in Medway being hi-jacked by Labour in pursuit of its narrow political aims.

“Your stance on the Battle of Medway commemorations is something of which you should be ashamed!

“For too long Labour in Medway has disrespected our traditions, our history, our heritage and our people.

“Even as recently at the last meeting of Medway some of your elected members showed disrespect to our national anthem!

“Now you go a step further by showing blatant disrespect to our Armed Forces – the very people who have given their lives to maintain our freedom and democracy.”

Who do you think is right? Email your views to medwaymessenger@thekmgroup.co.uk