The editor of the South Wales Evening Post has pledged to stand up for the public's right to know.

Spencer Feeney spoke out after a threat that he would be reported to the Press Complaints commission for revealing details of a leaked council document.

The paper revealed how Swansea's new flagship swimming pool could cost £1m more than expected, which prompted the threat from the authority's legal chief.

The Evening Post published the story after an un-named councillor leaked a confidential document to the paper - against the council's own code of practice.

And Spencer has now said he will continue to publish information contained in confidential papers if it is in the public interest.

He said: "Surely it is very much a matter of public interest for the people of Swansea to be told that their new showpiece swimming pool is likely to cost £1m more than expected."

But in a letter to the editor, the council's legal chief, Julie James, said it was "unacceptable" that a private organisation such as the Evening Post should decide what is made public after a decision had already been made by a democratic body such as her local authority.

She added: "Any future instances of publication of unlawfully disclosed information, irrespective of any claimed public interest in the disclosure by your organisation, will result in an immediate complaint to the PCC."

However the councillor who leaked the report to the Evening Post said they had no regrets.

"I am appalled that a project costing £10.7m is now deemed to need another £1m-plus - that's 10 per cent more - and I consider it to be in the public interest to disclose the fact," they added.

"Otherwise, how will the public ever get to know anything?"

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