Town councillor Mike Cuthbert-Murray has been thrown out of PubWatch for his alleged ‘constant public denigration of Westbury’.

Cllr Cuthbert-Murray, who is also a Wiltshire Council councillor, was the town council’s representative at Westbury PubWatch.

Members include The Conservative Club in Alfred Street, The Castle in Bratton Road and The Ludlow Arms in Market Place.

But at the group’s last meeting on August 12, at which Cllr Cuthbert-Murray was not present, it was unanimously decided that the councillor should be removed as the town council’s representative.

In a letter to Westbury Town Council, PubWatch chairman, Mike Jackson, said: “I have been asked by Westbury Pubwatch if you would convey to the council the fact that we no longer deem Cllr Cuthbert-Murray suitable to be our town council representative and request that the council nominates an alternative.

“We consider that his constant appearances and self-promotion in the media whereby he alleges prostitution and lawlessness in our town are unsubstantiated and very damaging to the reputation of both the licensed trade and the town in general.

“As members of PubWatch we have invested a lot of time and effort over a number of years to successfully change the image of our pubs and the drinking/social experience.

“We find it particularly galling, alarming and intensely frustrating that he should make such unfounded and headline-grabbing remarks with an assumed authority of knowledge.” In response, Cllr Mike Cuthbert-Murray told the Wiltshire Times: “At no time did I mention the licensee trade and, without telling me anything, Pubwatch sent a letter out to the town council expelling me from the group.

“They said I’m damaging the licensee trade by constant media attention and pointing out that we have problems with anti-social behaviour and soliciting in the town.

“But at no time have I mentioned the licensee trade.

“I will not be libelled by anyone so my solicitors are on this now because defamation is serious.”

Fellow Wiltshire Council Cllr and Westbury Town Cllr Russell Hawker said: “I am appalled at the bad behaviour of Westbury PubWatch in trying to slime a councillor via the media – and without discussing the matter with the councillor first – for successfully doing his job.

“Mike Cuthbert-Murray was the person who pushed everyone, including the police, to act to deal with the problem of street drinkers causing hassle.”

As chairman of Westbury Area Board of the Wiltshire Council, Cllr Hawker will be putting the issue on the agenda of the next meeting.

This will be held at Matravers School in Springfield Road, Westbury, on September 16.