A NORTH-EAST MP has launched a strongly-worded attack on the new holder of a 1,000-year-old judicial post.

Helen Goodman, who is deputy leader of the House of Commons, as well as MP for Bishop Auckland, has criticised County Durham's High Sheriff, Paul Townley, in a letter to the Secretary of State for Justice Jack Straw.

Calling for a review of the procedure for appointing high sheriffs, who play a largely ceremonial role in linking the judiciary and the community, she said the existing system "lacks transparency and accountability".

And she cited the choice of Mr Townley as a failure in the appointment process, which she believes should be altered and updated.

Mr Townley, 57, who runs a successful family telecommunications company in Cheshire, sparked a row in 2005 when he bought and closed Whorlton Lido, a beauty spot popular with families near Barnard Castle, close to his home at Thorpe Hall.

Ms Goodman, who bought a second home in Teesdale following her election in May 2005, but who spends most of her time in London, also pointed out to Mr Straw that Mr Townley has "only lived in County Durham for six years".

She said: "The appointment process appears not to take account of such vital criteria as longstanding commitment to the local area or widespread popular support in the community."

She told Mr Straw that shutting the 100-year-old lido had been unpopular with local families.

She wrote: "I am not happy that a person who uses their personal wealth in this way is now in a position of trust representing the county."

Her attack surprised Mr Townley's neighbours in the villages of Whorlton and Wycliffe.

Colonel Keith Calder, a former Whorlton with Westwick parish councillor, said many visitors to the Lido had been a noisy nuisance.

He said: "Closing the lido was a very good thing for the area.

"We had yobs careering through the village at excessive speed, shouting and throwing things out of their windows.

"It had become nothing but a nuisance."

Mr Townley, who was installed in April, offered to discuss the high sheriff's role with the MP.

He said yesterday: "I do not believe that the length of time someone has lived in a community should be a bar to public service and Ms Goodman is a good example herself of how a recent arrival to the area can be an effective representative of the interests of the local community.

"I continue to work with and support to the fullest in my capacity as high sheriff, youth charities and organisations that offer an alternative to gang mentality, binge drinking, violence and anti-social behaviour."

High sheriffs are nominated and appointed through the presiding judge of the circuit and the Privy Council. Every November, the Queen makes the final selection using the traditional custom of pricking the appointee's name with a bodkin.