'Make this public' plea

The report, which was due to be discussed at a meeting of the standards committee at the town hall today (Thursday), is expected to clear Labour's Coun Taylor of any impropriety, but opposition councillors have challenged the decision to exclude the public from the meeting.

The report is thought to state that Coun Taylor failed to declare in time an interest in a North Shore property he part-owned.

But it is likely that he will be cleared of any improper connection with a fraud --involving £30,000 in housing and other benefits -- carried out by his daughter Lisa.

She was jailed for nine months in December after falsely claiming the benefits while living at a house on Enfield Road which she partly owned with Coun Taylor. He did not declare until June last year that he part-owned the property.

Coun Taylor said that he was happy to have the chance to discuss the report -- which comes after a four-month investigation by Michael Brown, chief executive of Wyre Borough Council -- at the meeting.

"In some ways I am looking forward to Thursday when there will be a full discussion by the Standards Committee.

"I will be questioning the complainant and I want to see this thing out of the way. Although it hasn't interfered with my political career, it has been a nuisance," he said.

Coun Peter Callow, the Tory representative for Norbreck Ward, said that the meeting should definitely be held in public.

"Unquestionably it should be open to the public. I think people of Blackpool would demand that this matter be held in the open. Everything must be seen to be above board. What is there to hide? This above all is a case that demands an open report for people to be able to see justice is done," he said.

Liberal Democrat Coun Doreen Holt also wanted the meeting to be made public. "I do think that the people in the town would want to know the outcome," she said.