TEN former Lord Mayors of Plymouth have attacked council leader Vivien Pengelly for "trying to control the mayoralty".

In a letter signed by all ten – including Gordon Draper, who died last month – Mrs Pengelly is "implored" not to "jeopardise the political independence of the Lord Mayor".

The Herald understands that the issue will be raised at Monday's meeting of the full city council.

The cross-party hospitality committee, which traditionally organised the Lord Mayor's diary, was abolished soon after Mrs Pengelly came to power in 2007.

In their letter the former Lord Mayors, all understood to be Labour Party supporters, say: "Some of us are still active in our communities, with others retired from public life, but we all feel the need to speak out against the alarming way in which the Lord Mayoralty of Plymouth is being compromised.

"Plymouth's Lord Mayor gives all our citizens a chance to unite around one person, regardless of their political views, at important times in the city's calendar.

"The Lord Mayor impartially chairs city council meetings, greets members of the Royal Family when they visit, and lays the wreath on Remembrance Day on behalf of all Plymothians."

They say they are extremely concerned at the way in which Mrs Pengelly is "inappropriately involving herself in events and trying to control the Mayoralty in ways which threaten the much-loved neutrality of the office".

The letter adds: "She sidelined the Lord Mayor after the recent Freedom of the City event, insisted on marching directly behind him on Lord Mayor's day, and even stood in for the Deputy Lady Mayoress recently.

"On top of this, she has taken total control of the mayor's budget and diary. This has got to stop.

"One of her first actions on becoming leader was to abolish the much respected cross-party committee that used to handle these matters and give all power to herself in consultation with serving ex-Lords Mayor. We were shocked to discover that she hasn't met with them once.

"We implore Mrs Pengelly to spend her time attending to the serious problems our city faces, and not jeopardise the political independence of the Lord Mayor of Plymouth."

The letter is signed by Alderman Fred Johnson (Lord Mayor 1974-75), Alderman Peter Whitfeld (1984-85), Alderman Gordon Draper (1988-89), Alderman Jack Finnigan (1990-91), Alderman Ron Simmonds (1992-93), Alderman Sylvia Bellamy (1996-97), Cllr Ian Gordon (2002-03), Cllr Claude Miller (2004-05), Alderman Michael Fletcher (2006-07) and Cllr Brian Vincent (2008-09).

Mrs Pengelly said: "I recognise how much the people of Plymouth value the function of Lord Mayor and I am one of the strongest supporters of the office regardless of whichever party they represent on council.

"I am also one of the staunchest defenders of the impartiality of this position.

It is very sad that the former Lord Mayors have been misled in this way as the allegations in the letter are blatantly untrue.

"It's such a shame that at a time when Plymouth and the rest of the country face difficult times as a result of the recession that the councillors who instigated this letter are trying to politicise issues around the Lord Mayor.

"I know that most families in Plymouth have much more pressing concerns and I as leader, and the council as whole, will continue to focus on addressing them."