STUART Penketh (Letters, August 10) complains about the "Labour council's action in trying to 'gag' the opposition committee members over the proposed closure of the special care baby unit at Fairfield Hospital" as though it were true.

I attended the meeting of the healthier communities scrutiny commission as an observer. What I observed was that the chairman of the commission -- quite properly -- pointed out to members that they would be best advised to allow time for the facts to be considered and the comments of the protagonists to be gathered before the commission debated the proposals and arrived at any conclusions. He added that any attempt to short-circuit this process risked devaluing the commission's findings and recommendations.

The chairman made it quite clear that he fully appreciated public concern about the closure proposals and those present agreed that his statement was, in the circumstances, entirely reasonable. That is a very different situation to the one conjured up by use of the word "gagging".

As part of that process, Stuart Penketh -- and many others -- will have the opportunity to present his petition to the scrutiny commission if he wishes.

COUN DEREK BODEN