The leader of North Northamptonshire Council has declared his support for a public inquiry into contaminated land in Corby, a town where children have been born with birth defects believed to have been caused when steelworks were demolished in the 1980s. The announcement follows a report published last week by the charity Earthwatch Europe, which found that trained citizen scientists had detected potentially harmful levels of metal or metalloid at 52 freshwater sites across Corby - a finding that could pose a risk to human health.

Martin Griffiths, the Reform-UK leader of the council, told the NN Journal, which first reported the story: "We have nothing to hide." He added: "We would welcome a genuinely independent examination of the historic events and the questions that remain unanswered, and we would cooperate fully with any inquiry established by the government." It is a bold stance for a man whose council, one might note, is the body actually responsible for investigating and cleaning up the land in question.

Griffiths then challenged Lee Barron, the Labour MP for Corby and East Northamptonshire, to take his longstanding calls for a public inquiry directly to the Labour government. "If Lee Barron and his Government believe a public inquiry is necessary, we are ready to support his efforts to secure one," he said - a sentence that translates roughly to "sounds like a you problem, mate."

Barron's response was that it was "baffling" the council would ask for a public inquiry, given that the authority needed to immediately publish a plan to investigate and clean up any contaminated land. "It is important that North Northamptonshire Council investigate the [Earthwatch] report," he said. "People deserve answers and it is the role of the council to provide them." Earlier this week, Barron wrote to both the leader of North Northamptonshire Council and Health Secretary Yvette Cooper, letters seen by the BBC in which he said the environmental charity's findings "need to be investigated as a matter of urgency" and called on the health secretary to "ensure North Northamptonshire Council take immediate action to clean up any contaminated land."

Earlier this year, a number of families gathered outside North Northamptonshire's Corby headquarters calling for a public inquiry to clarify the situation. Des Collins, the solicitor who represented families affected by the town's toxic waste scandal, said: "We welcome the leader's announcement, which finally admits what we have been telling his council for the past year - our clients need, and deserve, a public inquiry as it is the only feasible way of getting to the truth behind the disposal of toxic waste around Corby. We look forward to Lee Barron MP and North Northamptonshire Council working together to encourage the Cabinet Office to authorise the Inquiry without further delay. Quite literally, local lives depend on it."

The government has been approached for comment. Meanwhile, the local news cycle continues apace: the study suggesting Corby's metal pollution may harm people, the parents of the 'toxic town' calling for an inquiry, and a watchdog's assurance that there has been no major toxic impact on waterways.