A JUDGE has ordered an urgent investigation into how a councillor came to be tipped off about child sex allegations about him BEFORE he was arrested.

Former Halton mayor and labour councillor Liam Temple, pictured right, was found guilty of offering a 12-year-old girl money to touch her, at Chester Crown Court two weeks ago. But during the three-day trial it emerged that Temple, 58, had been tipped off about possible police action by a friend who in turn had been told by a Runcorn police officer.

Voicing his alarm at the revelation, crown court judge Roger Dutton said: "This is of grave concern to me.

"There is to be a thorough investigation because it appears that a police officer has caused the defendant to be tipped off in advance (of his arrest) and if true, that is a serious matter."

The apparent early warning came to light during a witness statement by the girl's father, who cannot be named to protect the victim's anonymity, in which he said that he did not report the offence to the police for months because he thought Temple's position as a councillor and his police connections meant no one would believe them.

When Judge Dutton questioned Temple later in the trial, the former Castlefields councillor admitted he had been warned about the allegations.

"A friend's friend is a police officer who works in Halton and they had a conversation about these allegations," Temple told the judge.

"The lady told me some time after that she had heard this allegation about me interfering with a young girl but I said I didn't know what she was talking about and denied it fully.

"I did nothing about it until the police came knocking on my door. The friend is a family friend I've known for years and I also know the police officer quite well too."

The officer in question was identified in court by Temple but, although legally entitled to name them, the World has chosen not to do so ahead of a police investigation.

A spokesman for Cheshire Constabulary's professional standards department confirmed an internal investigation had been launched 'into whether an officer has made inappropriate disclosures about an investigation to a third party'.