Town halls still wasting millions on 'propaganda' sheets, Eric Pickles warns

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Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles said several boroughs had deliberately flouted a ban on council-produced newspapers. He singled out Tower Hamlets, Greenwich and Hackney for continuing to produce "town hall Pravdas" - a reference to the old Soviet propaganda paper.

New rules limiting council publications to four a year were passed by Parliament last month. Some boroughs, such as Lambeth, acted immediately but Tower Hamlets and Greenwich are both still printing weekly newspapers, while Hackney's fortnightly one is also continuing.

Mr Pickles said: "These town hall free sheets exist to promote personal political agendas and not the interests of the public. The millions wasted on this propaganda could be diverted to protecting front-line services."

The rebel town halls could face legal action unless they comply with the rules, a source close to Mr Pickles said. Tower Hamlets' independent mayor Lutfur Rahman has told council officers to review the future of East End Life following a £300,000 shortfall in the weekly publication's £1.5 million-a-year running cost.

He vowed to "scrutinise all the options carefully" before a decision next month, but added: "East End Life helps the council fulfil its duty to communicate with residents."

Town hall sources in Labour-run Greenwich said a review had been launched into Greenwich Time. And a spokesman for Labour-run Hackney said a decision on Hackney Today would be taken by the council cabinet, possibly in June, but publication would continue until then.

The new regime on council publications was put in place to save money and protect independent local newspapers from unfair competition.