Former Mayor Joe Anderson was questioned over allegations that a well known criminal was involved in a Liverpool council project.
Mr Anderson, 63, was arrested in December on suspicion of bribery and witness intimidation, which he denies.
Earlier this year he brought action against his former employer for refusing to provide indemnity to cover the legal costs of defending himself against the allegations.
READ MORE: Liverpool Council told to reconsider paying Joe Anderson's legal fees
On Tuesday High Court judge, Mrs Justice Yip said the council had wrongly applied its own policy when making the decision not to grant the indemnity.
In her judgement, Mrs Justice Yip also revealed the areas of questioning Mr Anderson was subject to by police.
One concerned Thomas Mee, 43, who was jailed last year for his role in a crime gang which targeted the homes of the rich and famous.
Mee, who admitted conspiracy to burgle and handling stolen goods, was jailed for eight years and seven months.
Chester Crown court heard how the crew targeted the homes of Raheem Sterling, Jamiroquai star Jay Kay and Bury FC owner Steve Dale.
When Mee was jailed last year the court heard he had 19 convictions for 40 offences from 1990 to 2018.
In June 2013 Mee was jailed for five years after admitting transfer of a firearm. The court heard that the gun had been used in a number of shootings across the city.
Tests revealed that the Austrian-made Glock had previously been used in a shooting at a house in Yellerton Road, Anfield, on December 6, 2011, and fired at a business on Glendower Street, Waterloo, in April 2010.
Mrs Justice Yip's judgement revealed that one allegation concerned claims there was a relationship between Mee's construction company, Joe Anderson and health and safety company SSC.
SSC was run by Mr Anderson's son David and was involved in the demolition of the Churchill flyover in Liverpool city centre.
Mrs Justice Yip stated: "Matters relating to Thomas Mee. This appears to involve a specific allegation of seeking to have a construction company appointed to a council project in return for payment through SSC."
Mee was well known in Liverpool's business community through his role as a demolition and site clearance contractor. He was sometimes spotted cruising the streets in a Lamborghini SUV.
Mee was a director of Mees Demolition Group (1.11 17 to 19.10.18) and Mees Demolition Manchester Limited (20.6.18 to 7.8.19). He resigned from Mee Demolition Manchester in August last year which appears to have terminated his association with the group.
Earlier this year the ECHO submitted a Freedom of Information Act to Liverpool Council, enquiring if Thomas Mee had been involved in the demolition of Churchill flyover.
The council's response read: "Mee Demolition/Thomas Mee expressed an interest on the scheme as a specialist demolition contractor, however Mee Demolition/Thomas Mee did not deliver any work on the flyovers scheme."
Mrs Justice Yip also revealed that Mr Anderson was questioned in relation to the controversial Tarmacademy scheme. Liverpool company King Construction, which went into administration earlier this year, was behind the scheme to build a large training academy on land off Derby Road. Liverpool Council spent millions of pounds on buying land to make way for the scheme which failed to materialise.
The judgment reads: "Matters relating to purchase of land for Tarmacademy. The suggestion here was that the claimant had committed the city to buying land at an overvalue, allowed a private company he was connected with to use the land rent free and authorised payments for connected works."
And that Mr Anderson was also questioned about allegation of "expedited payments" to King Construction.
The judgement also revealed that Mr Anderson was questioned over SSC 's dealings with Liverpool council.
It reads: "The Claimant's son David Anderson is a director of Safety Support Consultants Limited, a company who secured contracts on Council projects.
"The allegations appear to centre around preferential treatment for SSC and/or the facilitation of access for others, with potential rewards for the Claimant and/or his son through property transactions relating to the Claimant's home and caravans owned by him and his son."
David Anderson, who was arrested at the same time as his father, strongly denies any wrongdoing.
In her judgement, Mrs Justice Yip also revealed points made in a statement from Joe Anderson's solicitor.
These included that the mayor's decision making was subject to scrutiny, and that a payment to the "Mayor's Fund" was not to him but to the entirely separate "Lord Mayor's Fund."
His solicitor also said Mr Anderson denied any "inappropriate or unlawful behaviour" in relation to SSC and how Mr Anderson denied claims of "witness intimidation."
The High Court in Liverpool recently heard the council had refused to grant an indemnity agreement which would have covered his legal fees.
The judge ordered the council to reconsider Mr Anderson's application for indemnity to meet his legal costs resulting from the police investigation.
Mrs Justice Yip said she was not able to conclude whether Mr Anderson was or was not entitled to the indemnity based on the material she had seen.
Earlier this week Liverpool council released a statement on Mrs Justice Yip's ruling which read : “We are disappointed that the initial decision, which was taken in accordance with the advice of Leading Counsel has been quashed.
"However, we respect the findings of the court and we will now reconsider the decision.
"We were pleased to note that in her judgment, Mrs Justice Yip made it clear that there was no evidence that council officers had acted disingenuously - and/or with any improper motives - in reaching their decision, which had been claimed by lawyers representing Mr Anderson.”
The ECHO approached Joe and David Anderson for a comment on this story.
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