IN response to Tom Doak’s letter “walk-in victory for the people”, (Letters, November 12) I can confirm that I wasn’t at the meeting of the Health & Overview Scrutiny Panel (HOSP) into the Bitterne Walk-In Centre.

I was unable to attend but as my fellow Harefield ward councillor, Royston Smith, was there to speak on behalf of so many of our residents I was content.

There were around a dozen members of the public there. The rest were political activists mostly representing Labour.

No impartial member of the public spoke as everyone that did, bar one, said they were representing a political party.

Local councillor Royston Smith led the campaign in a non-partisan way, it was Labour that tried, and continue shamelessly to try to make this party-political, even to the point of tabling a motion for full council next week, despite the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) clearly having shelved its closure plans.

I would caution Mr Doak to think carefully before criticising a locally elected representative who was simply pointing out that a previous contributor to the Daily Echo letters page was trying to politicise something that should not be.

I have represented the good people of Harefield ward along with Royston Smith and Daniel Fitzhenry for the past six years and live in the ward making me perfectly entitled to voice my opinion on local matters and to set the record straight.

COUNCILLOR EDWARD DAUNT, Harefield Ward Councillor.