Kingston Council leader Liz Green has defended the authority’s continued funding of the Rose Theatre, describing the venue as “a jewel in the crown of Kingston town centre”.

Coun Green visited the theatre recently to watch Kingston University graduates receive their degrees.

She said: “Over the last few months critics of the Rose Theatre have been looking for anything they can to attack this investment.

“But talking to graduates outside the theatre, they loved being able to have their graduation here in Kingston at such a fantastic venue.

“It is only right that one of their and their parent’s most memorable moments from university is held here in Kingston.

“We need to get behind this great project, which has become a jewel in the crown of Kingston town centre.”

Coun Green’s comments come shortly after Conservative leader Howard Jones called for an independent investigation into disgraced former leader Derek Osbourne’s decade long tenure as head of the authority.

In an open letter to coun Green and council chief executive Bruce McDonald, he demanded to know whether Osbourne, a keen amateur actor and vocal supporter of the Rose, had steered public funds towards his “pet projects”.