Two councillors who leaked confidential information to their local paper are facing a possible standards inquiry by local authority watchdogs.

An Exeter City Council finance report showed an £11m shortfall in the authority's budget to pay for projects including a new swimming pool.

Councillor Rob Hannaford, a member of the ruling Lib-Dem party, faxed the report to the Express and Echo. Although most of it was already in the public domain, parts of it were confidential.

The paper approached both Coun Hannaford and City Council leader Coun Adrian Fullam for statements which they both duly gave for a story.

However the duo were then summoned to appear before the council's scrutiny committee last week to account for their actions.

The committee voted to refer the matter to a local government monitoring officer who will in turn decide whether it should be investigated further by a regional standards committee.

Express and Echo deputy editor Andrew Howard said: "Why should the public not have the right to know what councillors think without them first having to seek advice from the authority's employees?

"Surely the electorate deserves to know what the people we vote into power actually think.

"We asked straight questions – we got straight answers. That's the least our readers and the electorate should expect."

Coun Fullam told the scrutiny meeting: "I don't deny the comments I made. If the press ask me a straight question, I like to give a straight answer."

He added: "The information was faxed to the Echo.....I find that very regrettable. It's not right or appropriate that this information should first come to the attention of members in the Echo headlines."

Coun Hannaford apologised for releasing the papers but refused to recant his comments as they appeared in the Express and Echo.

"I'm not prepared to resign for telling the truth," he added.

"It's not good enough for members of the city council to blame the Express and Echo for their financial position."