A NORTH Lancashire councillor has defended himself after he was “formally censured” following an investigation.

Cllr John Wild, who represents his home village of Bolton-le-Sands on Lancaster City Council, is one of three Conservative councillors to have had action taken against them.

The council has been investigating a leak of “sensitive information” from its standards committee to the Daily Mail newspaper last year.

A special committee was set up to look into the leak and to determine “allegations of misconduct” by three councillors.

The committee’s findings were due to be reported confidentially to this month’s full council meeting. However, councillors voted to let journalists and the public stay in the chamber.

Cllr Wild and Cllr Peter Yates, who represents Carnforth, were both found to have “brought the office of councillor and the council into disrepute by misleading council officers”.

Mr Wild was also found to have “bullied a junior officer”. He has been “formally censured”.

Mr Yates has been removed from the standards committee.

Mr Wild, who represents the Bolton and Slyne ward, told the Gazette he was being “victimised” simply for “asking questions about wasting money”.

"There was no bullying," he said. "I think I'm fighting a just cause."

Mr Wild explained: “I’m walking the canal every day with my dog; I’m more than approachable. We will know on May 2 if the people of Bolton-le-Sands are sensible.

“I don’t think they are going to be too worried about this story because they can see through it. They all know me. I go to church, I’ve saved the library and the post office. I’m a good ward councillor, I’m just trying to stop waste.”

The special standards committee found Mr Wild had brought the council into disrepute “by seeking sensitive information to pass onto members of the public” during a telephone call to a junior officer last August. It said that behaviour amounted to bullying.

Mr Wild told the Gazette the phone call had been “an amiable conversation”.

Meanwhile, the committee found Mr Yates had misled investigators looking into the leak about his whereabouts on August 11 and 12 last year. The committee found it “unlikely” the Carnforth councillor would forget he was at home that weekend as opposed to the Isle of Man.

The Gazette was unable to contact Mr Yates at the time of going to press yesterday.

A third Tory councillor, Andrew Gardiner, of Overton, was “formally censured” for bringing the council into disrepute, failing to take part in the data leak investigation, and seeking to “intimidate” officers.