PROMINENT councillor Mozaquir Ali has been found guilty of breaching a council's code of conduct and banned from holding office for three years.

The Liberal Democrat will not be allowed to be a member of the new executive that will rule Burnley or to be chairman or vice chairman of any committees or sub-committees.

On six separate occasions he failed to declare a personal interest in a discretionary renovation grants scheme for residents in the Daneshouse and Stoneyholme area, councillors were told.

A standards panel found he should have been aware that, having regard to his ownership of a property, he migh qualify for a lateral "two into one" conversion grant and as a member of the committee he should have declared an interest.

The panel said Coun Ali was clearly aware of the position following his submission of a grant inquiry from March 6, 2000, onwards and that at no time from November 1998 onwards did he declare an interest at meetings of the housing and community services committee or the council.

He was found to be in breach of the national code of local government conduct, council standing orders and the council's code of conduct for members. The findings of the standards panel were announced at last night's meeting of the full council. Coun Ali was not present. Lib Dem colleague Coun Roger Frost said he did not challenge the fact that Coun Ali did not declare an interest but said the "punishment did not fit the crime".

He asked for the ban on holding office to be reduced from three to two years. Coun Ali had assured him it was not an attempt to conceal an interest and the work on his property would have been done anyway.

Coun Frost added: "He obviously benefited but to no greater extent than his neighbours. The offence is technical one although I am not exonerating him. It was a mistake."

Coun Ali had done good work for the council and for the community. He admitted he was wrong but it was not a crime in the legal sense. It was an error, said Coun Frost, who asked the council to be lenient and charitable. The three year ban was carried by more than 20 votes to nine.

Coun Ali was unavailable for comment.