Members of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority have claimed chairman Brian Coleman is "too confontational" and "lacks interest" in them.

A peer challenge report, out this month, was produced by two London councillors and a member of the Improvement and Development Agency for Local Government, who reviewed the authority's current performance in maintaining ethical standards.

It found that members thought Mr Coleman, also a Barnet councillor and London Assembly member for Barnet and Camden, should reflect on his use of language in public.

It also discovered tension between Mr Coleman and opposition group leaders which can break out on trivial issues and a perception that "trust is declining within the political establishment".

However, Mr Coleman is praised for chairing meetings "with strength and confidence" and offering "clear political leadership".

The report recommends that Mr Coleman should consider meeting with the chair of the standards committee, as a way of "anchoring behaviour and ethics at a senior political level".