With all 14 of his former colleagues on Attleborough Town Council assembled and attentive before him, Nigel Thwaites delivered his accusation with a dramatic flourish.

"Someone around this table lied to all of you," he said.

Mr Thwaites - who stepped down from the authority last month - delivered his chilling denunciation as he returned to its first meeting since his resignation to ask a question as a member of the public.

His apparent aim was to unmask the culprit he believed had leaked confidential information from previous meetings, an issue which had caused him to resign in protest.

Agatha Christie is famous for her detective novels (Image: PA) "Last month, I stood down from this council on personal grounds, of integrity," he told the assembled members.

"Someone around this table leaked confidential information.

"Then, when they were challenged, someone around this table lied to all of you and didn't step down.

"What are you doing about it? That one person has destroyed the trust that I had in this council."

Actors in Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express (Image: Bettmann Archive) Like the most skilled of sleuths, Mr Thwaites then toyed with his captive audience.

"It doesn't take a genius to figure out who it would be," he added.

Alas for onlookers and fans of whodunnits, Mr Thwaites then left the gallery in suspense, returning to his seat without revealing the identity of the accused.

It was left to Andrew Westby, the town mayor, to respond, saying, in the best traditions of........

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