THE chief executive of Bournemouth Council admitted describing the Daily Echo as "f****** b*******" when it reported him using foul language during a meeting, an employment tribunal heard.

Tony Williams acknowledged he made the comment following a report that was leaked while with refuse collectors while he was executive director.

Mr Williams went on a series of road shows during which he said he built a rapport with the team and joined in with their use of bad language.

The incident was reported by the Echo at the time of the incident, before his promotion in March 2012, after which Mr Williams was heard using the term for changing what he believed to be a good news story into a criticism of the council.

The tribunal was told he had been reprimanded, though light-heartedly he claimed, by a union representative.

He said: "On the final roadshow with the refuse collection teams I admit I used the term. Why had they turned such a good story into a negative headline that undermines staff? I let my guard down."

Mr Williams said he considered the Daily Echo a "great civic institution" and was "proud to have them in Bournemouth".

"There was never a formal complaint," he added. "The Unison representative did discuss with me an issue of swearing in the general light-hearted context."

The exchange came during the employment tribunal case brought by former finance director Liz Wilkinson.

Staff at the council claimed they were subject to Ms Wilkinson's bullying and bad language while she held the position of finance director before she was suspended last October.

Mr Williams denied there was "a culture of swearing" at the council.

Mr Williams also admitted he'd never witnessed first-hand the alleged conduct from the claimant, Ms Wilkinson, nor had he ever asked for written complaints against her, despite it being a definitive council policy to do so.

"I need to confess that I did not ask for written evidence," he said. "I wanted an informal resolution which protected the claimant. If I had requested hard evidence I believe it would have been to the detriment to my approach. My whole approach was based on seeking improvements, not finding fault or guilt on either side."

Jo Barnes, Ms Wilkinson's personal assistant, claimed she had been warned "to be careful" when submitting evidence for the investigation, the tribunal heard.

In her evidence read aloud, she said: "I met with Tony and he basically told me about the investigation into Liz Wilkinson. There could be 40 officers and councillors against me so I should be careful."

Richard O'Dair, representing the claimant, said: "As chief executive staff look up to you. They are likely to be influenced by your views. They would be likely influenced by the knowledge that the chief executive had made up his own mind about where the truth lay. A chief executive who put pressure on a junior employee to take a particular side would be behaving grossly and improperly. He would be guilty of gross misconduct."

But Mr Williams refuted this and said he wanted to make sure Miss Barnes knew the independent investigation into Ms Wilkinson's alleged conduct would not in any way affect her job.