New details about allegations of bribery at Slough Borough Council have been revealed to the Slough Observer.

A letter alleging that money had been solicited in return for planning permission was received by Slough Borough Council earlier this year.

The council has said little about what was said in the letter, who sent it, what planning applications it related to and who might have been implicated.

But now the Observer can reveal that the complaint was written on behalf of more than one person and connected to 'various planning applications’.

READ MORE: Slough councillor says resignation ‘not linked’ to bribery allegations

The council revealed the information as it explained why it is refusing to release the letter to the press.

The council told the Observer: “If the letter were released the public could ascertain who the authors of the letter represent on various planning applications and could then approach the authors’ clients.”

Slough Borough Council confirmed in April that it had received information ‘expressing concern about soliciting money in order to secure approval for planning permissions.’

The council says it couldn’t investigate as no individual was named in the complaint, and that it forwarded the letter to Thames Valley Police on April 2.

READ MORE: Slough Borough Council won't release bribery complaint

Thames Valley Police told the Observer in May that ‘no active investigation’ into the allegations was ongoing as ‘no evidence has been identified’. Despite this, Slough Borough Council says releasing the letter could harm police investigations.

It said: “The police would have needed to undertake an investigation of this matter in private and not in the glare of a public spotlight.

“The disclosure of the letter would be likely to prejudice the investigation in that potential witnesses are unlikely to be helpful to the police in the knowledge that the matter is in the public domain.”

The council also argued that releasing the letter would breach data protection laws that say personal information must be handled ‘in a lawful, fair and transparent manner’.

READ MORE: Watchdog to review council decision not to release bribery complaint

Slough Borough Council’s statement is the latest in a series of reasons given for not publishing the letter in response to a freedom of information request by the Observer.

The Observer has argued there is a public interest in releasing the letter, and that personal information can be redacted if necessary. The Information Commissioners Office is set to rule on whether the council was right to refuse to release the letter.

Slough Borough Council passed the allegations to police two weeks before councillor Iftakhar Ahmed resigned as its cabinet member responsible for planning.

Councillor Ahmed denies that his resignation was related to the allegations, and was instead due to disagreements with council leader Dexter Smith over changes to roles in the cabinet. The council says the letter didn’t name any individual.

Speaking back in April, he said: “There is no connection; however, the perception that there might be a connection has been created by the leader due to his cabinet reshuffle.”

He added: “I am unaware of which property developers have complained and in relation to what application, as no information has been provided to me.”