A HOUSE of Lords peer has accused Cotswold District Council of “persecuting” Liberal Democrat councillor Esmond Jenkins.

Liberal Democrat peer Lord Tyler accused CDC of “tying up” Cllr Jenkins in a “ludicrously trivial investigation.”

Cllr Jenkins, who was a key figure in exposing Cotswold Water Park fraudster Dennis Grant, is currently the subject of an investigation by the Standards Board for England following a number of complaints against him.

Lord Tyler claimed the board, which is due to be scrapped, has been used “as a means to gag those who are simply undertaking the first responsibility of an elected member – to act as a watchdog for the public interest.”

“In this case, one assiduous councillor, doing precisely what electors expect of him, has been proved right in identifying potentially illegal activity,” he said.

“But instead of supporting, encouraging and endorsing his successful attempts to bring illegality into the open, leading members of the council and officers would appear to be determined to use the Standards Board for England as a way of tying him up with a ludicrously trivial investigation.”

Cllr Jenkins is currently investigating an alleged planning breach at Cotswold Water Park by property developer Watermark Group, but has been the subject of a number of complaints to the Standards Board.

Watermark chairman Max Thomas has accused Cllr Jenkins of interfering with his business activities and asked that he be “reined in,” while CDC head of planning Philippa Lowe, has accused him of being disrespectful to her staff.

Cllr Jenkins said the investigation by the Board had taken up a great deal of his time.

“My experience has led me to the conclusion that the present standards system is deeply flawed, is open to abuse as a political weapon and I am glad that I will be one of the last councillors to be subject to the Board’s attentions,” he added.

A CDC spokesman said the Board allows anyone to raise code of conduct issues.

“It is disappointing that Lord Tyler did not seek the views of either the Council or Standards for England before making his statement in the House of Lords, particularly in view of the unsubstantiated assertions made and implied criticisms,” he added.

“The fact that Standards for England are undertaking detailed investigations into these cases would suggest that they do not consider the allegations to be ‘ludicrously trivial’ as inferred by Lord Tyler.