THE TOWN clerk of Lampeter has suddenly quit after a row flared up again over the town council’s decision to continue to observe their traditional Christian prayer at the start of meetings.

At their March meeting members turned down calls for a Humanist reading to accompany the Lord’s Prayer – as well as suggestions for a minute’s silence for private thoughts and reflection.

But the issue was raised again last week when Cllr Elin T Jones, who describes herself as a devout Jew, expressed frustration at the authority’s insistence on continuing to observe the Lord’s Prayer.

And, in a series of sharp exchanges, she criticised town clerk Eleri Thomas who had argued passionately in favour of retaining a Christian prayer at the previous month’s meeting, maintaining it was ‘part of our heritage’.

Cllr Jones also told colleagues she was seeking legal advice, suggesting that the council was in breach of the Equality and Diversity Act.

Ms Thomas, who has held the post of town clerk since 2005, subsequently shocked councillors by handing in her notice of resignation to town mayor Cllr Hag Harris – but when later pressed by the Cambrian News declined to confirm or deny whether her decision resulted from the ongoing controversy.

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