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Finnigan found guilty of abusing taxpayers' resources yet again.

Councillor loses case against his employer From the Morley Observer and Advertiser, 13 August 2008 By Sarah Hall A MORLEY councillor has lost a case he brought against his former employers accusing them of "a breach of trust and confidence". Coun Robert Finnigan (MBI, Morley North) tried to sue his former bosses at Kirklees Council after officials used powers under the Regulation and Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) to search his computer. RIPA, often used to monitor terrorists, was used after allegations were made against him that were later proved to be unfounded. However, although he was cleared of the initial allegations, Kirklees bosses uncovered thousands of e-mails relating to Leeds City Council business which Coun Finnigan had sent and received during work time. He was given an official warning for gross misconduct but resigned in March before launching legal proceedings. But employment judge Christine Lee struck out the case, stating that Coun Finnigan's argument was "misconceived" and that he "abused his position" by sending and receiving so many e-mails. The initial investigation was instigated after claims Coun Finnigan had been looking at pornography, something he was cleared of doing. Said Judge Lee: "I am satisfied that RIPA was not in any way improperly used. It is not limited to serious crimes and terrorism. Given the number of e-mails it seems to me the respondent was entitled to conclude that the complainant was abusing his position." Between February 26 and May 4, 2007, Coun Finnigan received 1,595 e-mails at work, but only 83 were work-related – while on another occasion, 146 non work-related e-mails were sent on one single day. But Coun Finnigan, who had an unblemished record of 22 years as a benefits advisor, said sending and receiving the e-mails was part of his statutory 208 hours of annual paid leave, used to attend Leeds City Council meetings and other business. After the hearing, he added: "I don't think it's right to use draconian legislation to investigate people who have strong, solid records of service to the public. I will be asking for further legal advice to see where to go from here."