A joke in which Merton’s council leader blamed the Pope for the shortage of primary school places has provoked further criticism.

Councillor David Williams apologised in this paper last month for the gaffe, in which he joked with one clergyman at a meeting that because he was a Church of England vicar, maybe they could blame the Pope for the school-place crisis.

He described as a comment made in jest, never intended to cause offence.

But when asked in a council meeting to apologise to Merton’s Catholic community for the “offensive comment”, he declined to do so on the advice of the authority’s legal officer.

Coun Williams said he had been reported to Merton’s standards committee, and although he had been cleared, he could not answer as the decision was still open to appeal.

But Labour Councillor Peter McCabe, who asked for an apology during last Wednesday’s full council meeting, said: “This is like an American gangster taking to the stand then pleading to take the fifth amendment. If you’ve done something wrong you should stand up in front of the council and say you’re sorry.

“I’ve been a member of this local authority for more than 20 years and I’ve never seen a councillor refuse to answer a question on the grounds of legal advice.”

After making the remark in December, Coun Williams said: “It was absolutely in jest - I wouldn’t have wanted anyone to take offence. It was a flip remark, and maybe I should be more careful in making flip remarks.”

Last week he added: “On the basis of the legal advice that I had received, it made it impossible to for me to give the answer I would have wished to have made to Councillor McCabe’s question.”

He said he would be prepared to answer the question again during the next full council meeting on March 24.