Re the letter from Mr Bruce Evans (Wiltshire Times, September 11): I would not normally respond to letters in the local press but on this occasion there are serious discrepancies which I should correct.

I reported to the Wiltshire Times that the previous Mayor of Marlborough did not want to wear Marlborough town’s existing robe because as an old garment it contained real animal fur which her daughters preferred her not to wear.

She decided to purchase her own robes with fake fur. At the end of her Mayoral year, knowing Westbury was in the process of purchasing a robe, she offered this hardly used robe to Westbury Town Council which we bought. Mr Bruce Evans says our Mayor’s robes contain animal fur which is not correct. He also suggests that the people of Marlborough objected to this and that the Mayor of Marlborough listened to her electorate when making her decision not to wear fur; she told me that this decision was made primarily because of her daughters’ concerns.

At the recent Magna Carta celebrations in Salisbury attended by thousands, it was noticeable that, of the 15 Wiltshire Mayors who lined up outside Salisbury Cathedral, only three did not have robes.

With respect to the public forum, the council has been trying to improve engagement but is legally constrained in that it is not normally possible to discuss, as council business, items not been previously published in the agenda. As members of the public are entitled to speak at 10 minutes notice, sometimes councillors can only listen and not respond. Our procedures state: A factual question will be answered by The Mayor or failing that by the chair of the appropriate standing committee or the town clerk.

In the past I have seen letters in the press criticising the town council in which the facts have been incorrect. If I can help letter writers by providing or checking any facts before publication contact the town council office on 01373 822232.

Keith Harvey, Town Clerk, Westbury Town Council