FOUR men, including Lancashire County Council leader Geoff Driver, have been rebailed by police in connection with the long-running One Connect police inquiry into the authority's contracts.

They were originally arrested in May shortly after the Conservatives retook control of County Hall in local elections.

Burnley-born County Cllr Driver was officially installed as leader of the authority just a few days later.

The other three are former County Hall chief executive Phil Halsall, David McElhinney, who was chief executive of the now defunct One Connect and its sister organisation Liverpool Connect, and Ged Fitzgerald, the current Liverpool City Council chief executive and former Lancashire County Council chief executive.

All four were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice and witness intimidation.

They were originally bailed until June 19 and rebailed until today.

A Lancashire Police spokesman said: "They have been re-bailed until November 22."

County Cllr Driver, who has vigorously denied all claims of impropriety concerning the One Connect deal between the county council and telecoms giant BT, was not immediately contactable.

The police investigation into Lancashire County Council’s One Connect contract with BT has been running for more than three years and cost £2million.

A total of 22 officers and staff have been involved into the probe which also covers a similar deal involving Liverpool City Council.

In November 2013, the police launched the inquiry, initially into the tendering of a £5m fleet contract with One Connect Ltd which led to the resignation of Mr Halsall.

It has examined the wider partnership with BT, including how Mr McElhinney, received two lump sums of £231,709 and £275,888 from the county council in 2013, apparently without the knowledge of its treasurer Gill Kilpatrick.

In 2014, Labour councillors, who were in charge of county hall from 2013 to 2017, cancelled the controversial deal signed by Cllr Driver's previous Tory in administration in 2011.