AN official complaint has been handed in to council standards chiefs over a councillor’s planning lobbying.

Newcastle’s Labour group has called for a formal investigation into Liberal Democrat Greg Stone’s work following claims his job as a planning consultant was in conflict with his role as a councillor.

Mr Stone was caught in a national newspaper sting in which undercover reporters filmed him boasting of “tricks of the trade” to help planning applications succeed.

There is no suggestion Mr Stone has worked on applications directly affecting Newcastle, although the Indigo Public Affairs company for which he is the northern head is helping to secure permission for green belt homes in Ponteland.

Now Newcastle Council’s chief legal officer has been told that an investigation should be held to understand the techniques Mr Stone spoke of.

The Labour complaint says it is important to know “whether he accepts it is morally and ethically wrong as an elected councillor to boast that he can open doors to smooth planning committee decisions for the benefit of his employers and his own career?”

There is also a call for a list of all of Indigo’s contacts showing who Mr Stone may have worked for.

In light of the newspaper article the Labour group said: “We question whether Councillor Stone can ever be trusted by his constituents in North Heaton and Newcastle again, as it appears that he has used his position as a councillor to gather contacts that will help his professional business.

“We question whether it is right that he can remain as a councillor.”

As well as the formal complaint Labour chief whip Sue Pearson has also written to her Lib Dem counterpart Tom Woodwark, saying that the continuing accusations against Mr Stone “do serious damage to the reputation of local government.”

The Lib Dems have said they do not belive there is any inappropriate behaviour and have accused Labour of seeking to settle political scores over the issue.

A statement from group leader David Faulkner said: “I am not aware of any conflict of interest here nor anything inappropriate about Coun Stone’s role as a planning consultant and how he carries this out.

“He is not involved in determining planning decisions at the city council, and his work is properly declared in the register of interests.”

Mr Stone has referred questions to Indigo, which said it adhered to the highest professional standards and that staff who are councillors never work on projects in their own local authority.