AN OPPOSITION councillor says he feels "gagged" after being banned from discussing a report into the impact of a supercasino in the area.

Councillor Nigel Fletcher was previously banned from seeing the Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC) report, because it contained "commercially sensitive" information.

After he complained, Greenwich Council, which had commissioned the report to support its bid for a supercasino, allowed him to see it - but only on a confidential basis.

Now he has been told if he discloses its contents he would be in breach of the members' Code of Conduct.

In a letter to Cllr Fletcher the council said: "PWC confirmed it would reconsider granting consent to disclosure, once the bidding process had concluded."

Cllr Fletcher said: "I have great sympathy for council officers who seem to have their hands tied by the obstruction of PWC.

"I am effectively gagged from discussing information which I believe should rightly be in the public domain."

The council will be putting forward its case for a supercasino in Greenwich before the Casino Advisory Panel in London today.

The independent body will be making its recommendations to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport by the end of the year.

Auschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) has started building work for the supercasino as part of the O2 site development.

But it denied claims work was done without planning permission.

An AEG spokesman said: "The shell of the building is part of the backstage area of the arena which we have committed to opening in July next year."

A Greenwich Council spokesman said: "We are currently seeking to agree with the consultants and other third parties what information may be released and when this should take place."