A Perthshire councillor at the centre of a probe into alleged bullying has been told he will stay suspended for another three months.
Colin Stewart was ejected by Perth and Kinross Council in October, following an interim ruling by the Standards Commission for Scotland.
It followed several complaints about alleged “aggressive” and “intimidating” behaviour – allegations that Mr Stewart has refuted, insisting he has always acted in the public interest.
Many of the complaints arose from a chaotic meeting of the Integration Joint Board in July, which – according to depute chief executive Jim Valentine – had been “deliberately engineered” by Strathmore councillor Mr Stewart to bring the council and officers into disrepute.
Now the Standards Commission has renewed Mr Stewart’s suspension for a further three months, despite two complaints being dropped.
A complaint that Mr Stewart had been disrespectful to officers by calling the planned Cross Tay Link Road “stupidity on stilts” was dismissed as “unfounded”, while a complaint that Mr Stewart had shouted at fellow Tory councillor was not proved.
Executive director Lorna Johnston said: “While the Standard Commission accepted that two of the complaints had been rejected, it was nevertheless of the view that there remained a prima facie case that there may have been a pattern of bullying and intimidating behaviour by Councillor Stewart towards a number of individuals over a period of months.
“The commission considered that, given the seriousness and extent of the allegations against Councillor Stewart and the variety of individuals affected by his alleged conduct, there remained a significant risk of harm to others.
“The commission was concerned about the negative effect the imposition of the interim suspension could have on Councillor Stewart’s wellbeing but continued to be of the view that the potential consequences to other individuals and to organisations outweighed the risk of reputational, financial and other damage to Councillor Stewart.”
Mr Stewart, who continues to deny all remaining allegations against him, said: “While I’m obviously disappointed that my interim suspension has yet to be lifted, I’m pleased that the investigation into one complaint showed that I hadn’t breached the code of conduct, and another complaint was dismissed as unfounded before any investigation even started.
“It is in nobody’s interest for this uncertainty to continue. The real losers are the residents of Strathmore who are deprived of full representations on the council and its committees, even while zero complaints against me have been upheld.”
