Exonerated local councillor identified
A COUNCILLOR who was unnamed in a report about a hearing of the Standards Commission which cleared him of any wrongdoing has identified himself.
Tweeddale East representative Robin Tatler made the admission in a statement read out at Peebles Community Council.
The elected member had been accused of breaching the councillors’ code of conduct.
After a 16-month investigation by the Standards Commission for Scotland, it was concluded that the then-unnamed councillor did not have a case to answer.
Tatler said: “Some of you may have seen a report in the media in the last week about an ‘unnamed’ councillor in Tweeddale who has been cleared of breaching the councillors’ code of conduct.
“The councillor mentioned was me, and I am letting you know this partly to avoid any unnecessary speculation for my fellow Tweeddale councillors and to draw a line under this episode publicly.
“The complaints made against me were entirely unfounded and unwarranted, and, in my opinion, frankly vexatious.
“They were completely dismissed by both the Ethical Standards Commissioner and the Standards Commission of Scotland, which confirmed that I did not have a case to answer.
“Although I have been completely exonerated, it has been an unpleasant and distressing experience which has taken valuable time and attention away from serving my constituents in Tweeddale.
“The issue that seems to have
initiated these complaints relates to the non-charging for the use of Common Good land and this has previously been raised and discussed by this community council. In particular, there has been conversation here about certain cycling events.
“I would like to take this chance to also let you know that since my business circumstances have now changed, I anticipate that I will no longer have any cause to remove myself from discussions on this topic by declaring an interest.
“I will therefore be actively involved in future deliberations and decision-making on this subject.
“Finally, this whole episode should serve as a reminder to both SBC councillors and community council members that we all sign up to a Code of Conduct by which we must abide.
“I am reassured that when such spurious complaints were made against me, there was a robust and efficient process in place that ultimately ensured that the truth prevailed.”