A SENIOR councillor has been reported to the standards committee for writing a letter to the Citizen!

Cllr Jon Barry has been carpeted for writing a letter pointing out that he was not one of the councillors who voted to revoke the Warehouse Nightclub's entertainment licence.

Fellow members of the licensing committee decided that his actions were inappropriate and that he should be reported.

But an incredulous Cllr Barry said he checked with the council's legal department before sending the letter and that the information was already in the public domain.

"This is a complete waste of council time and resources," said Cllr Barry, "I'm being prosecuted for following council guidelines.

How we all voted is in the minutes of the last meeting and just to be sure I checked with the legal department and they said it was fine.

But some members of the committee are unable to understand this.

"If this is the level of their logic then the people they judge at committee don't stand a chance.

I'm being prosecuted for following standing orders.

I should be reporting them!"

A spokesman for the council said: "The licensing committee has resolved that a complaint about Cllr Barry should be referred to the standards committee.

This complaint has now been passed to the monitoring officer to investigate and determine whether or not there is a case to answer."

During a reconvened meeting on Monday to discuss the Warehouse case, the police objected to Cllr Barry being on the committee because they felt his Citizen letter meant he would not be impartial.

He declined to withdraw from the committee, as did Cllr Carol Broad, who was accused by the Warehouse licensee, Mrs Maureen Harding, of voicing strong opinions against the nightclub at a public meeting.

Members listened to representations from both sides and voted not to grant a public entertainment licence.

Without a PEL the Warehouse has been forced to close.

Mrs Harding said that she will now appeal to the magistrates court.