THE furore regarding a former top York council officer continues to rumble on after a city resident revealed he had contacted the Law Society in a bid to uncover why he retired.

Terry Smith says he will not rest until the reasons why ex-commercial services director David Finnegan left the council are revealed.

Mr Smith, who runs Classic Cutz Barber Shop, in Heworth, has already had a Freedom of Information Act (FOI) request refused by City of York Council on the grounds that information concerning individual employees is bound by law to be considered privately.

But Mr Smith said he felt that because Mr Finnegan was a "public servant paid by the taxpayer" he should be accountable.

Mr Finnegan left the council's employment after councillors agreed a compromise agreement that allowed him to take "early retirement".

The department head, who had been working at the council for almost a decade, had been suspended since August on disciplinary matters.

Since then York residents, and city MP Hugh Bayley, have contacted the authority in a bid to unravel the mystery of Mr Finnegan's departure.

In a letter to Mr Smith rejecting his FOI request, the council told Mr Smith that revealing details would "represent a breach of the duty of confidence owed to an individual an as such could expose the council to legal action".

The council has also rejected a similar request from the Evening Press on the same grounds.

The letter continued: "Although I am not disclosing the information to you I would like to assure you that both the council's monitoring officer and the director of resources, both of whom have a statutory duty to ensure probity, are aware of the details of the settlement.

"I can also confirm that the Audit Commission, which is responsible for independent review of the council's accounts and expenditure, has been made aware of details of the settlement."

Last week, the Evening Press reported a new probe in the Commercial Services department with audit inspectors looking at the way contracts were awarded.

Mr Smith said: "As Mr Finnegan was a public servant paid for by the taxpayer, I feel that he is therefore accountable. I am concerned as to where public money goes."

A City of York Council spokeswoman said: "Matters which relate to the employment of individual members of staff at the council are exempt from publication under the terms of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972.

"For this reason, issues concerning individual employees are bound by law to be considered privately and are confidential."

Updated: 09:53 Thursday, November 17, 2005