South Wales Evening Post - 22 November 2005
Plaid Cymru's group leader on Swansea Council has reported two colleagues to the authority's monitoring officer for allegedly looking through private files. But Darren Price's complaint has been laughed off by People's Representative member Ioan Richard and Liberal Democrat Keith Morgan.
He wants the pair to go before the standards committee or an independent security investigation to be launched.
The row is over an incident which councillor Richard mentioned that he and councillor Morgan had just been looking at a copy of councillor Price's surgery leaflet.
"These leaflets are only stored in two places - one is kept in my private file within the members' support unit, while the other is held by the staff at members' support," said Councillor Price.
"Both are private files.
"The fact that these two councillors have gone into one of these files is serious.
"I believe the two have breached the councillors' code of conduct and general moral rules accepted by society."
Councillor Richard said the matter was prompted by Plaid's call for bilingual signs at Liberty Stadium. But he said its leader had shown hypocrisy by having his surgery leaflet in English only.
He said he showed Councillor Morgan the original one by asking a members' support employee to get it from the file.
"It is a record of the surgeries held for the public by councillors. He is embarrassed because it was in English only, said Councillor Richard.Councillor Morgan, who left Plaid Cymru last spring, said: "It is not a private mater."
A council spokesman confirmed the complaint would be considered by the monitoring officer.
