DETAILS of two information security breaches – one of which resulted in an opposition councillor having his internet access blocked – will be reported to councillors next week.

A town hall report alleges Liberal Democrat Cllr Roger West twice passed on information of a confidential nature to third parties and that the move to temporarily suspend his email and internet access was “necessary and proportionate.” However, a separate breach, in which a council employee inadvertently disclosed 673 private email addresses was a “genuine mistake” and does not warrant any further action.

The council says the first breach Cllr West is accused of involved a confidential, internal email sent to all councillors about a member of the public who had been deemed a “vexatious complainant.”

This email was forwarded to a third party, who then forwarded it to the “vexatious complainant” who contacted the council.

The Information Goverance Manager initiated an investigation and reviewed two emails in Cllr West’s email account. “As a result of the investigation it was evident that Councillor West was responsible for forwarding the email concerned to an external third party,” the report states.

The report adds the second breach occurred on the same day when Cllr West widely circulated, both internally and externally, personnel information of a confidential nature relating to two senior managers.

It concludes: “Cllr West had been fully advised of the decisions of the SIRO (Senior Information Risk Owner) as set out in this report.

“To date he has neither acknowledged the serious nature of the matters concerned, nor has he indicated that he understands and is willing to comply with due legal requirements and the council’s policy framework.”

Members of the Audit and Governance Committee will be considering the report at their next public meeting.

It will be taking place at the town hall at 10.30am next Wednesday.