A council has hit back following the resignation of a chairman from a twinning group, writes Mark Templeton.

Mike East quit the Oxford-Bonn link group after 25 years along with wife Carol, who was secretary. The pair blamed a breakdown in the relationship with Oxford City Council and say the final straw came when the council told the group the dates of next year's annual Bonn Week in Oxford without any consultation.

Now Oxford City Council is defending itself and says the row centres on the group's application for a grant last year. A spokesman said: "Instead of giving a grant for the Oxford-Bonn link to distribute, the council gave money direct to organisations which were visiting Bonn including youth groups.

"The city council asked for the return of a previous grant when the group was unable to use the money for the purpose specified in the grant application.

The city council has to ensure that public money is spent wisely and this is standard practice when dealing with grant applications. "Other twinning associations were dealt with in a similar manner and accepted the council's decision."

The spokesman added: "It is customary for the city council to set dates of Bonn Week in Oxford.

"This was discussed with Bonn City Council and arranged at a time when young people from both cities were available to take part."

The twinning group has now chosen Oxford city councillor Alan Pope as its new chairman.