Bedfont councillor will be investigated

Yvonne Ramsaran, chair of the Standards Committee and the Standards Assessment sub-committee, wrote to both Cllr Virk and Cllr Mark Bowen, who made the complaints against him.

Following a meeting on October 9 to assess the allegations, she wrote: "The assessment sub-committee of the Standards Committee decided to refer the allegation to the monitoring officer for investigation."

A monitoring officer will now decide whether Cllr Virk brought his office or authority into disrepute and failed to declare a personal or prejudicial interest, act appropriately or correctly register his interests.

Cllr Virk had been accused by Cllr Bowen, the deputy leader of Hounslow Council, of failing to register his interest in two properties - one in Sparrow Farm Drive, Feltham, and one in Basildene Road, Hounslow West.

The Hounslow property came to the notice of planning officers in June, 2005, amid complaints it had been illegally converted into cramped flats.

Cllr Bowen also made an allegation that Cllr Virk had failed to declare his interest when a West Area planning meeting discussed the property of one of his neighbours.

Cllr Virk has already been stripped of his privileges for four months by the Labour group and, if found guilty of breaching the code of conduct, could potentially face suspension.