A STAY-AWAY councillor's complaint about his leader has been rejected by a national watchdog.

Labour Durham county councillor Keith Murray-Hetherington has attended only eight out of 78 meetings of the authority, the region's biggest, in the past two years.

Labour leader Ken Manton's request that he stand down and let someone else represent the Stanley division prompted Coun Murray-Hetherington to complain to the Standards Board for England, which was set up to monitor councillors' conduct.

He said Coun Manton took a letter of resignation to his home and suggested that if he did not resign voluntarily, the issue would be reported to the Press.

Coun Murray-Hetherington, who continued to claim the basic councillors' monthly allowance of £577.42 (£600.50 since October), claimed the leader breached the council's code of conduct.

But the Standards Board has said it is not taking any action, deeming the complaint a "political matter".

Councillor Manton said: "I believed I had a duty as leader of the council to bring this situation to the attention of the public and to seek Coun Murray-Hetherington's resignation.

"An important part of my job as leader is to ensure that my fellow councillors do the job they are voted into office to do and that people throughout the county receive a fair and adequate service from the councillors they choose to represent them, no matter what their political persuasion.

"Sadly, I have still had no information from Coun Murray-Hetherington that he intends to make way for someone with more time to devote to the duties and responsibilities of a county councillor."

Coun Murray-Hetherington was the country's youngest civic leader at the age of 26 when he became chairman of Derwentside District Council, but failed to attend his count when re-elected to the county council in June 2001.

The Labour group could withdraw the whip from him, but cannot take any other action as he has met the minimum legal requirement of attending one meeting every six months.

He is chairman of the Derwentside Primary Care Trust, earning between £10,000 and £12,000 for the post, and also a North Durham magistrate.

He could not be contacted for comment last night.