THE Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) has intervened in a row over claims Bury race chiefs have served more than their allotted time in office.

A former director and an ex-chairman of Bury Racial Equality Council (BREC) say that the organisation's current officers should have stepped down last year.

They claim that present chairman Dr Mohammed Salim and honorary secretary Sam Cohen have served more than their allotted three years, allowed under BREC's constitution, after being elected to their posts in 1997.

However, the CRE, which was asked to investigate the issue, has stressed that no rules have been broken.

The claims that Dr Salim and Mr Cohen were in breach of the constitution had been made by former BREC director Mr Nasrullah Khan and ex-chairman Mr Liaqat Ali. Earlier this month, Mr Khan was cleared at Bolton Crown Court of theft and deception charges relating to his time at BREC. He was director for 11 years before quitting in 1999.

Later, he took his former employers to an industrial tribunal claiming he had been unfairly dismissed.

The tribunal was adjourned and Mr Khan is now seeking its resumption.

And last year, Mr Ali was handed down a lifetime ban by BREC because of what was termed his "past and present behaviour" towards the race body.

Mr Khan (48), of Benson Street, Bury, says that both Dr Salim, recently awarded the MBE in the Queen's New Years Honours List, and Mr Cohen have served more than the stipulated three years on BREC's executive committee. He says that, at the organisation's annual meeting last summer, both should have stepped down.

And he has also disclosed that he wants compensation from BREC, claiming his reputation has been damaged due to his court appearance.

Mr Ali, of St George's Road, Unsworth, served BREC for around ten years before he resigned as chairman in 1992 on the eve of a censure motion.

He had sent a letter of complaint to CRE bosses in Manchester, asking for an inquiry to be launched relating to the number of years Dr Salim and Mr Cohen have served in office.

BREC's honorary secretary confirmed that both he and Dr Salim had taken up their respective offices in 1997.

"But the following year, a meeting of Bury Racial Equality Council adopted a new constitution," explained Mr Cohen.

"The commission says that all terms of office start from the date of the adoption. Therefore, our three years will finish at this year's annual meeting."

A spokeswoman for the CRE in Manchester confirmed that BREC wasn't in breach of the constitution.

"They adopted the CRE's model constitution in 1998," she said, which allowed the three-year term of office to begin then.