Compulsory criminal record checks are set to be introduced for all Hounslow councillors, despite opposition from some in the Conservative ranks.
Council leader Steve Curran said the move, which was approved at the borough council meeting on Tuesday (November 24), would reassure members of the public their representatives were "beyond reproach".
But Conservative councillor Gerald McGregor, who said he was subject to checks anyway as a school governor, described it as an "authoritarian" and "retrograde" step.
"Compulsion in this matter is one that is retrograde and somewhat authoritarian," he said.
"It's riding roughshod over the values we as individual councillors hold. I think this is an attack on the integrity and character of the people of this assembly."
Labour councillors voted in favour of compulsory checks, which were approved at the meeting despite Conservative members abstaining.
Mr Curran rejected concerns from the Tory benches that the checks could amount to a "fishing expedition", exposing councillors who had committed minor indiscretions many years ago in their youth.
"If something comes up in the check it has to be relevant to the work they're doing," he said.
"This is not about a punch up in the pub when you're 19 or 21. It's about serious crime which could have a bearing on your duties as a councillor.
"We need to reassure our residents that we're beyond reproach."
