DEVON and Cornwall Police have verified they are investigating a report of “misconduct in public office” in connection with a Cornwall councillor.

It is understood the matter refers to a complaint about Cllr Louis Gardner, following a meeting at Cornwall Council at the end of February.

An incident number was passed to the press by a member of the public, which was checked out with the police. A spokesperson for the force said: “We have been made aware following a report of misconduct in public office by an individual in the Newquay area. Enquiries into the matter are ongoing.”

Cllr Gardner, a former mayor of Newquay, was appointed at the beginning of March to the role of head of future air and space at Spaceport Cornwall, which is run by Corserv, a Cornwall Council-owned company. On accepting the role he stood down from his position as the local authority’s Conservative cabinet member for the economy and will stand down as a Newquay councillor on Cornwall Council at the elections on May 1.

The job announcement came just days after Cllr Gardner, who was previously a Naval officer, sat on Cornwall’s Economic Prosperity Board (EPB) meeting on February 27 which agreed to give what is believed to be around £200,000 of Shared Prosperity Funding (SPF) from the government to the Spaceport, while the recruitment process was being carried out. Cllr Gardner now controls the Spaceport’s budget.

At the EPB meeting, Cllr Gardner did not declare an interest and seconded a motion which approved SPF funding to a range of bodies – though all the financial details have been redacted from the council minutes. Ben Maguire, the Liberal Democrat MP for North Cornwall, said at the time: “Was this clear conflict of interest declared at the time – and were there really no eyebrows raised when Cllr Gardner, days before securing a £70,000 job at the Spaceport, was a key part of the decision-making process to approve its funding?

“I’ll now be escalating this matter to the Commissioner for Public Appointments and engaging directly with Cornwall Council’s monitoring officer to ensure this potentially serious breach of standards is investigated to the fullest extent.”

The council was asked if the matter violated the Localism Act 2011, which states that it is a criminal offence to participate in any discussion or vote on a matter in which you have a disclosable pecuniary interest. A spokesperson said: “We are unable to add anything to our previous statement on this issue. If a code of conduct complaint was received, we would be unable to comment on the matter.”

Its previous statement said: “Members are responsible for declaring any non-registerable interests or disclosable pecuniary interests at any meeting they attend. Any code of conduct complaints submitted to the council will be given full consideration by the monitoring officer.”

Corserv has said: “As a conscientious employer, all our recruitment processes are robust and fair, and in-keeping with our legal and moral responsibilities. As are all our roles, this position was advertised in line with the standard practice for the relevant position and industry. When initially a suitable candidate could not be appointed, a further review and re-evaluation of the applicants was conducted, as per standard hiring procedure.

“Following the initial shortlisting process, the re-evaluation of the shortlist confirmed there were no other suitable candidates at that time. Re-advertising was not appropriate at that time due to the recent timescales. Due to changes to Cllr Gardner’s circumstances, he was able to submit his application and, following a robust and thorough process, his application was deemed to fit the criteria to proceed further.”

The company previously stated that Cllr Gardner’s attendance at meetings in his role as a councillor was a matter for Cornwall Council to comment on.

Conservative council leader Linda Taylor, who retires as a councillor on election day, insisted at a recent cabinet meeting that the post had been advertised and Cllr Gardner’s appointment followed a standard “rigorous” recruitment process “with structured interviews”. She added that the process complied with the Nolan Principles on standards in public life. Opposition councillors have called for an inquiry into the appointment.

Cllr Gardner has been approached for comment.