A report prompted by the controversial farm tenancy the county council awarded to its deputy leader has cost £68,000.

The report, completed by Mazars for Cambridgeshire County Council, contains the findings of an audit investigation into the former deputy leaders’ tenancy of Manor Farm, Girton, and the council’s farms estate policies and procedures.

The council brought in an external accountancy firm to conclude the audit investigation after their own internal auditor was unable to complete the work owing to illness.

The council is refusing to release the report.

Conservative councillor Terry Rogers, who has taken over the chairmanship of the committee, has said they may still decide to release further information from the report.

He said: “The committee will consider what further material contained in the report should be placed in the public domain”.

He added: “We might decide as a committee, that further information might be laid before you in due course”.