Former Brighton and Hove City Council leader Ken Bodfish has sent out emails which appear to suggest he will be away from his council office for more than a year.

The move fuelled accusations by his political rivals that he has not been playing an active enough role in council duties since resigning from his leadership post in January and taking up a new job as the chairman of a health trust.

Mr Bodfish said the email was not a rebuke for people contacting him but done for technical reasons involving software.

He said he was still determined to serve his ward but confirmed he would not be standing in next year's election on May 3.

He said he would then be concentrating on his work as chair of The Sussex Partnership NHS Trust.

Councillor Bodfish said: "I am continuing as a ward councillor supporting residents. I am also a member of Sussex Police Authority and will work hard to ensure that the interests of Brighton and Hove and Sussex as a whole are protected in the Government imposed merger with Surrey."

The councillor, who was unceremoniously dumped by his Labour colleagues as council leader in February, raised eyebrows with his out-of-office email message.

Anyone emailing him in recent weeks has received the automated reply from his address saying: "I will be out of the office starting 27/02/2006 and will not return until 01/05/2007."

He then gives his new health trust email address.

The sign-off dates coincide with his being blocked as a Labour candidate at the selection process on Thursday, February 23 and next year's election on May 3.

Coun Bodfish said: "I have another email address now which is an NHS one. When I tried to set up an out-of-office reply on the council one I had to put dates in."

He rejected suggestions he should resign and said he would stay for the four years for which he was elected to serve the ward. Following Coun Bodfish's replacement as leader by Simon Burgess, he was deselected as Labour candidate for the Queen's Park ward, an area he has represented since 1984.

In February, Coun Bodfish failed to attend the annual budget meeting after his party dropped him as a candidate for next year's local elections.

He said the move was not a snub to colleagues because he was angry at being dropped but because he "had other things to do".

Brighton and Hove city councillor Keith Taylor, Green Convenor, said: "It's a bit puzzling especially as he is still drawing his councillor's allowance yet saying on the record he only talks about mental health issues now he has a new job.