The Haymarket Theatre will close until next year

The new leader of the city council, Roger Blackmore, has said he will launch his investigation into how the venue got into such serious difficulties.

He has called for a rescue package to avert the theatre's closure, forced on it by a debt of almost �500,000.

And theatre union Bectu has called on the theatre's management to resign over the crisis.

There is some sort of cover-up going on and I am going to get to the bottom of it Councillor Roger Blackmore

Mr Blackmore, who took over as leader of the council last week, says he is making it his number one priority to investigate the theatre's cash crisis and to find a way of keeping it open.

He said: "There is some sort of cover-up going on and I am going to get to the bottom of it.

Job losses

"I am extremely concerned and the people of Leicester are extremely concerned as to how this happened and obviously we want to work hard to see if we can ensure some sort of rescue package."

The theatre has blamed the closure on the need to tackle a �450,000 deficit, and indicated that the Arts Council of England a backed the plan.

Bectu says this will result in 76 people being made redundant.

The union has pointed out the size of the deficit is almost identical to management's overestimate of budgeted box office income for the last financial year.