A senior Warwickshire councillor cleared of making a discriminatory remark towards protestors insists the allegations were a political smear.

Warwickshire County Council's portfolio holder for resources and internal affairs Cllr Mike Bannister, was investigated by Warwickshire Police and the county council following allegations emanating from a protest against plans to cease funding to an equalities service in May.

Warwickshire Police 'filed' the case, meaning work on it remains on ice unless fresh information or evidence comes to light.

That allowed the county council to open its queries into a code of conduct complaint brought by Warwickshire Pride chair Daniel Browne and others but deputy monitoring officer – second in command to the county council's most senior legal professional – Nichola Vine has informed Cllr Bannister in writing that she is "satisfied, having made preliminary enquiries that the words were not said by you, nor were they said about the complainant or any other protester".

Cllr Bannister now plans to file a complaint against Mr Browne, an independent councillor at Warwick District Council.

"I have been exonerated," he said.

Cllr Bannister told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that a comment had been addressed to him by one of the people he was with outside Shire Hall, insisting it was nothing more than an attempt to reassure to him at a time when he was being heckled by protestors.

"To my knowledge, no one addressed comments to anyone in the crowd," he said.

"I certainly didn't say anything and anything that was said was between individual people, not meant to be overheard. It was not addressed in a way that should have been overheard and it was not directed to any protestor.

"The comment was made towards me. The protestors were booing me."

The allegations were first raised during open session in the meeting that followed, one chaired by Cllr Bannister. The Local Democracy Reporting Service has made an editorial decision not to publish them.

"I had no idea that (accusation) was going to crop up, or even that it could crop up. I was quite flummoxed by it," said Cllr Bannister.

"It was blown out of all proportion, deliberately to make political capital and to somehow denigrate. I didn't like that.

"I am not saying it had a big effect on me or my mental health but a three-and-a-half month police investigation? It could have had an impact on some people.

"I'm tougher than that and knew I hadn't done anything but things like police interviews, having to wait for an outcome, they're not nice experiences. People should think twice before they do these things."

Put to him that the person using the overheard term had been ill-advised, irrespective of who it was directed at, Cllr Bannister disagreed.

"No one could have known the protestors would start jeering," he said.

"If they hadn't jeered it wouldn't have occurred. It wasn't predetermined, it was spur of the moment and it was people talking between themselves. The comment was offering reassurance to me at a time when my name was being bandied around."

He said the basis of his complaint against Mr Browne would be that he had wasted police time and council time.

Mr Browne said he had yet to hear from the county council and that Cllr Bannister's claim that he was heckled was "not true".

His account is that he and two other people were passed by Cllr Bannister and a further two people who were walking with him away from the main protest.

He said he and those with him heard the remark but could not identify which of the passing trio had said it.

"There was no action from the police because of a lack of evidence, not because it didn't happen or that he was exonerated," said Mr Browne.

"The complaint that I made was not only about the comment that I heard, it was about his (Cllr Bannister's) aggression towards me inside the meeting and an incident after the meeting where he walked towards me in an intimidating way.

"That was witnessed by several people in the community."

Asked for more detail, Mr Browne said that occurred directly after the meeting while he was speaking to three other people near the steps of Shire Hall.

Mr Browne alleges that Cllr Bannister had walked straight towards him before changing direction without speaking, describing it as an "intentional" attempt to intimidate.

Cllr Bannister vehemently refutes that accusation.

Mr Browne says the incident forms part of "an overall pattern from the Reform administration towards LGBTQ+ communities", alleging "repeated attacks on Warwickshire Pride".

"There are so many other things that he and the administration should be focusing on," he added.

"It really bothers me that this is their focus instead of getting on with the business of the council."

As for the complaint against him, Mr Browne said: "Whatever process there is will need to play out but in all of this, I have acted in a Warwickshire Pride capacity.

"Never at any point in this have I identified myself as a district councillor. As always, I have kept the different parts of my life as separate as possible."

He committed to accepting the outcome of any investigation into his conduct.