TWO Labour councillors who have become ensnared in a £22,000 race watchdog job furore could face suspension from the party's council group.

Labour chiefs in Darwen have called for Mohammed Khan and Dave Hollings to be suspended and a special meeting will be held within the next two weeks.

A memo leaked to the Lancashire Evening Telegraph revealed that the Rossendale and Darwen Constituency Labour Party have called for the pair to be suspended from the group pending an investigation.

Coun Khan resigned as chairman of the housing committee at the council after he applied for, and accepted, a £22,000-a-year job at the Blackburn Racial Equality Council, despite being chairman of the organisation. Coun Hollings, the vice chairman of housing, resigned after admitting an "error of judgement" in being one of the selection panel members who interviewed and offered Coun Khan the position.

Both have also resigned their position on the REC's executive.

But Rossendale and Darwen Labour leaders called for further action to be taken against the councillors. The confidential memo says: "This constituency Labour party is extremely concerned at the alleged activities of members of the Labour group, in particular Mohammed Khan and Dave Hollings, in respect of appointments to the Racial Equality Council.

"The CLP believe such activity, if proven, brings the Labour party into disrepute and therefore believes that the issue should be resolved as a matter of urgency.

"This CLP therefore calls for the members named to be suspended from both their senior positions within the council and their membership of the Labour group, to enable the Labour group to instigate an independent investigation into this issue."

"We further believe we need to behave in such a manner as to show we believe in both political and financial probity."

Darwen Labour Party secretary Coun Michael Barrett said the memo was written before the two councillors resigned, and had been overtaken by events.

But he added that a special meeting of the Labour group on Blackburn with Darwen Council would be held in the next ten days to two weeks to consider the suspension request.

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