THE results of a council inquiry into the controversial signing of a contract on election day, committing Bourne-mouth to a town centre casino, will be revealed next week.

Council leader Stephen MacLoughlin told the Daily Echo yesterday that the new cabinet would be receiving a report on the internal investigation at its first formal meeting next Wednesday.

"On Wednesday I am expecting to know exactly what happened in the run-up to the contract being signed on polling day," he said.

"I'm hoping the chief executive will give a full and frank account of what went on and we will know if there was any wrong-doing by former councillors."

Cllr MacLoughlin added: "When we are aware of exactly what went on we will know what commitments this council has entered into with the Trevor Osborne Group.

"We need to be aware of the legal and financial implications of what we have inherited and what our options are.

"Those could range from breaking the contract or going ahead with the scheme because of the exorbitant cost involved in rescinding it.

"It's all in the melting pot and we are going to have to hold discussions with the Trevor Osborne Group, involving legal and financial advisors, to see where we go from here."

Cllr MacLoughlin said the background to the contract signing at 6.45 pm on the day of the local elections would be made public.

But "commercially sensitive" information would be discussed behind closed doors.

The Daily Echo revealed how the crucial document was signed by the council's executive director for major projects Stephen Godsall and witnessed by a council legal officer.

No councillors were involved in the contract signing and Cllr Claire Smith told the Echo that her husband Richard, the former Lib Dem council leader, had been unaware the document was being signed.