A FORMER Holsworthy mayor has been officially rebuked for keeping quiet his friendship with a town hotelier who was bidding to lay on a civic luncheon.

Councillor David Smith has also been told to accept training on the responsibilities of a councillor because he tried to take part in council debates about the luncheon and a grievance accusation he was involved in.

The Holsworthy postmaster was cleared of failing to treat Clare Dalley, who was then town clerk, with respect.

But he was warned by Torridge District Council's standards sub-committee that in future he could not act like a line manager toward council employees.

The findings were announced after two investigations; one by the district council's head of human resources John Edwards and one by Peter Cruden on behalf of Standards For England.

The committee heard Mr Smith became Holsworthy mayor in May 2008 and was heard to say: "There will be resignations."

He took a proactive approach to running the council, viewing himself as the town clerk's line manager.

The matter came to a head when he inspected her files regarding the civic luncheon while she was on holiday. On her return he immediately called a meeting on May 14.

Before it he circulated a confidential briefing about the tendering process for the luncheon.

He claimed the clerk had told one of the three tenderers, the Rydon Inn, that if the price was dropped they would get the luncheon.

She denied this and in the ensuing row left the council room in tears, while other councillors tried to calm Mr Smith.

He said another tenderer, the White Hart Hotel, would provide better value for money.

But he did not say he had known the hotel owner Jonathon Hutchings since Mr Hutchings was a Scout in Holsworthy, had given him a reference when he joined the Navy, used his pub and went on holiday with his father.

In the aftermath the clerk lodged a complaint against Mr Smith and other councillors complained he continued to try and involve himself in debates about the clerk and the luncheon.

Mr Smith's son Peter, who spoke for his father during the hearing, denied Mr Smith was a close friend of Mr Hutchings, and said his father probably knew half the population of Holsworthy to a greater or lesser degree.

The committee ruled that regarding the tendering process for the luncheon, Mr Smith had a personal interest through his association with one of the tenderers.

It said he breached the Code of Conduct by not declaring this before talks about the tenders and he failed to take appropriate action as a result of his prejudicial interest in this matter.

Although the grievance claim was dismissed it was found Mr Smith had a personal interest through his direct involvement and by not declaring this before discussions he breached the code again.

In a statement, district Councillor Ben Ormerod, the chairman of the committee, said: "We found the number and nature of the breaches of the code were of a serious concern.

"The committee decided by a majority that suspending Mr Smith would not be in the public interest."

Instead he was censured and ordered to undertake training on the Code of Conduct.