A COUNCILLOR convicted of illegally obtaining confidential information for political gain during the 1999 local elections cannot be brought to book by his colleagues, it emerged this week.

But Bromsgrove District Council could come in for criticism from a standards watchdog.

In a report, to members of the authority's standards committee which meets tomorrow, district secretary Bob Lewis said the council and its members could not make a complaint about Cllr Peter McDonald's actions, but a member of the public can.

The Labour group leader who represents Uffdown and Waseley, pleaded guilty at Redditch Magistrates Court in April to two breaches of the 1984 Data Protection Act.

He was fined £500 and £780 costs after the court heard he obtained a list of free bus pass holders from the council for political purposes.

Some pensioners later received letters warning they would lose concessions if the Tories won.

At its June meeting the committee requested a report on its options.

In his report, Mr Lewis says it is not a function of the committee to investigate allegations against members.

It can refer them to the Standards Board for England -- but only if a member failed to comply with the authority's own, soon to be adopted, code of conduct.

He pointed out a complaint about a breach of the National Code of Local Government Conduct can be made to the Ombudsman, but only by a member of the public who may have been disadvantaged by Cllr McDonald's actions.

If the Ombudsman considers there has been a breach, and the person complaining has suffered injustice as a result, it can record a verdict of maladministration against the council.

Cllr McDonald said there had been a breach - between the Conservatives and Bromsgrove's senior citizens.

He said he is still campaigning to reinstate free bus passes.

But, council leader Nick Psirides (Con, Norton) said perhaps Cllr McDonald could get his Labour government to give back the half a million it took, when it doubled the number of people the district council had to provide with free bus passes.