Legal advice said to relate to Pembrokeshire County Council "preventing a councillor taking up his seat" will be published following a full council vote.

An argument has been ongoing since Cllr Jacob Williams called for the publication of advice from a QC - about David 'Dai' Boswell's election - that cost taxpayers more than £2,000.

Corporate overview and scrutiny committee on November 15 decided that publication was in the public interest.

Today (Thursday) 41 councillors voted in favour of releasing the letter of advice from James Goudie QC written in June along with information on why that advice was sought, with any personal information redacted.

Milford Mercury:

How the vote went - Picture: Jacob Williams.

In support of his notice of motion, Cllr Williams said: “As a councillor I have been able to privately inspect a redacted copy of the instructions to Mr Goudie and the legal opinion he provided. As long as no sensitive personal information is divulged, it is my opinion that the paying public has every right to see both documents.

"The case is made more compelling by considering the fact that two subsequent sets of advice Mr Goudie provided on the same topic have already been put into the public domain by a full council resolution.”

Cllr Williams raised questions as to how the authority knew of the investigation into Boswell, who had not been charged with any offences at the time of the election.

The advice was available for councillors to view and Cllr Williams added on Thursday: "What I read was a real eye opener" with the QC said to be "aghast" at such a question.

Monitoring officer Claire Jones' report recommended publication for members only but on Thursday added that the discussions carried out on social media meant there was now a "strong argument for publication."

Cllr Mike Stoddart added: "There's nothing proactive about this publication, it's been dragged out by virtue of a Notice of Motion.

"People out there who have paid over £2,000 for this should know why it was sought and what the advice was. People don't understand this council is keeping it under wraps."

Council leader Cllr David Simpson, who said he had no interest in "shutting down" Facebook discussions, added he had "no problems releasing this to the public" but did note the monitoring officer's concerns.

Cllr Williams said it was pressure from the Conservative party that led to the attempt to prevent Boswell taking up his seat, but this was denied by members at the meeting.

The information will be published, but no indication of exactly when was given.