THE publisher of a free community news sheet has been accused of a sexist attack on three women members of Richmondshire District Council staff.

The authority's standards committee meets next week to consider complaints made by two women councillors against fellow member Coun Tony Pelton.

Couns Lynn Miller and Yvonne Peacock claim the Christmas 2000 edition of the Clarion News, which circulates in the Catterick village area, referred to female council employees in a patronising and sexist manner.

They say the article discredited the authority and infringed the national code of local government conduct which says mutual respect between members and officers is essential to good local government.

A report by Mrs Margaret Barry, corporate unit manager, to the standards committee on Wednesday, says the article could be viewed in two ways - a rather clumsy attempt to compliment the female staff, whose forenames are included, or patronising and sexist.

"Given the small size of the district council, two of the names which appear in the article can only relate to two identifiable members of staff," says the report. "To my knowledge, the third name is shared by only two members of staff.

"I would take the view that the content of the article is inappropriate and potentially embarrassing to the individual members of staff who are named."

Coun Pelton, who represents Catterick with Tunstall, denied the article was sexist or insulting. "It is not offensive," he said. "It is highly complimentary, it is light-hearted, good-natured and well-intentioned. It is certainly not sexist. To be sexist is to be derogatory towards women and I am not."

Coun Pelton said he was unable to attend next week's committee for personal reasons and would not be represented.

It is the second time the committee has investigated complaints against Coun Pelton. Two years ago, he was requested to apologise for a joke in the Clarion which the committee ruled was offensive and distasteful.

At the same hearing, he was also ordered to apologise to a female resident who said he jostled and harassed her in Richmond market place after she criticised him at a council meeting.