A bitter war of words that has broken out between the former cabinet member for finance at Cornwall Council and the authority has intensified after a spokesman said that he had been assessed as a "serious and enduring risk to children.

The authority warned schools and sports clubs about him, amid claims he was ordered to “resign with immediate effect or be removed” from the council, following an investigation into his arrest over indecent images of children in 2006.

Mr Folkes has firmly declared his innocence, claiming that anonymous letters and emails have been sent to the press and to opposition councillors as part of a "concerted campaign,"

He says that police did not bring any charges and said he was arrested when credit or debit card details were found which linked the cardholders to a site containing indecent images of children. He added that his card had been cloned at some time in the past and used illegally.

READ: Councillor Alex Folkes says investigation over indecent pictures of children established his innocence

In a scathing attack on the chief executive of Cornwall Council, Andrew Kerr, on his blog, Mr Folkes has called into question the whole process that led to his resignation, saying "deeply libellous and completely untrue statements" had been made and that the council had not offered any evidence to support their "outrageous claims"

However the council has replied, saying it has an overriding responsibility to safeguard the welfare of children and young people in Cornwall and that after receiving the initial information raising serious child protection concerns relating to Councillor Folkes on October 16, an immediate investigation into the circumstances wasa launched.

It adds: "As part of the investigation we were given information by the police which was assessed by the Local Authority’s Designated Officer (LADO) as part of the Council’s formal safeguarding process.

"Based on the information supplied by the police at this stage, the LADO process concluded that Councillor Folkes represented a serious and enduring risk to children.

"This decision was later confirmed by additional information supplied by the police. This led to the director for education, health and social care writing to schools and children’s settings in the Launceston area.

"We took legal advice on all aspects of this matter in order to make certain that the process was conducted fairly and properly and in the interests of ensuring the maximum safety of children in Cornwall.

"We are confident that the investigation, which was aided by the police, has been dealt with appropriately and all proportional steps have been taken to ensure children in Cornwall are protected to the maximum possible degree.

The Council also took legal advice on when it could share details of the evidence which had been provided to the LADO with councillor Folkes and provided him with the information as soon as it was legally able to do so."