WHITEFIELD councillor Alan Matthews is to face a formal hearing over allegations that he brought the local authority into disrepute.

And he could be suspended from office if the charges are proved by independent members of Bury's standards committee.

The Labour councillor, who has represented Besses ward for the last 26 years, was reported to the national Standards Board for England over his conduct at a planning committee in January. He was chairing the meeting, and refused to allow Tory councillor Yvonne Creswell to speak unless she apologised for her "disgusting" remarks at a previous meeting.

Coun Matthews told the Guide that the "gagging order" had made been made by the planning committee. However, Tory members of the committee denied this, and uproar ensued.

Coun Creswell complained that she had not been treated with suitable respect, nor allowed to represent the interests of her constituents. The Standards Board has completed its investigation, and decided there may be a case to answer. It has sent the matter to Bury's standards committee for determination.

It follows an earlier complaint by Labour members about Coun Creswell's behaviour at the original meeting, which the board threw out.

The hearing is scheduled for October 4, and the panel will probably comprise five members: two councillors and three independents.

The last time the committee met in this way was last year, when it handed out suspensions of eight and six weeks respectively to Tory councillors Bob Bibby and Jim Taylor. They were found guilty of not declaring interests, and were not allowed to attend council meetings or claim their allowances during their suspension.