A former Gwynedd councillor has been disqualified from holding public office for three years after a tribunal found he breached the Code of Conduct by attempting to defraud another local authority.

The case, brought before the Adjudication Panel for Wales (APW), concerned former councillor Iwan Huws, who had been a member of Gwynedd County Council.

The matter was referred to the panel by the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales following a complaint and investigation.

The tribunal heard that Mr Huws had accepted a Conditional Caution from police for the offence of fraud by misuse of office, after attempting to defraud Isle of Anglesey County Council of a £3,000 filming fee.

According to the decision notice, Mr Huws used a personal bank account for payment, issued a fraudulent invoice and accepted the police caution in relation to the matter.

The allegation before the panel was that he had breached paragraph 6(1)(a) of Gwynedd Council’s Code of Conduct, which states that members must not conduct themselves in a manner that could reasonably be regarded as bringing their office or authority into disrepute.

The Case Tribunal, convened by the President of the Adjudication Panel for Wales, met remotely in December to consider written evidence and representations.

It unanimously concluded that Mr Huws had acted in breach of the Code and that both his misconduct and the conditional caution brought his office and the council into disrepute.

As a result, the tribunal imposed a three-year disqualification, preventing Mr Huws from acting as a member of any relevant authority in Wales, as defined under section 49(6) of the Local Government Act 2000.

The Adjudication Panel for Wales is an independent judicial body established under the Local Government Act 2000 to determine alleged breaches of local authority members’ codes of conduct. It has the power to suspend or disqualify councillors where serious misconduct is proven.

The panel made no recommendations to Gwynedd County Council beyond notifying the authority and its Standards Committee of the decision.

Mr Huws has the right to seek leave from the High Court to appeal the ruling.