Annabelle Dickson MP Henry Bellingham last night said he would seek urgent talks with sports minister Andy Burnham over the "ridiculous decision" to relegate King's Lynn.

Annabelle Dickson

MP Henry Bellingham last night said he would seek urgent talks with sports minister Andy Burnham over the "ridiculous decision" to relegate King's Lynn. The North-West Norfolk MP pledged to do everything in his power to get the "extraordinary ruling" overturned including entering discussions with the minister for Culture, Media and Sport. Describing the Conference decision to demote Lynn from Blue Square North as "unprofessional", he criticised the lack of warning given to West Norfolk council and said not enough time was given to the public body to find the cash needed for the upgrades.

"One cannot expect the council to bring money forward out of the blue," he said. "For the Conference to insist the council conjure up the money overnight - it seems to me to be incredibly unreasonable. Hopefully we can get this ridiculous decision reversed. I will be taking this up with the Football League and the officials at the Conference, but also the relevant sports minister. Obviously football is an activity that should be actively encouraged. Something has gone wrong here."

He added: "The Linnets are a very important part of the local community. People have taken enormous pride in their promotions and supported them over the years. It will be a big blow to the fans, business people who've supported the club and the players who are going to feel incredibly let down. If they are going down a league there will be less high quality clubs coming to The Walks. It is something we must try and stop."

He said he had already been in contact with Linnets chairman Ken Bobbins, who will meet borough council officials early next week ahead of launching an appeal to try and overturn the Conference decision.