ANTI-SNP rant councillor joins standards body

Anger at appointment of former teacher struck off for abusive tweets

A Tory councillor criticised for posting offensive social media comments was yesterday welcomed on to Fife’s standards committee – sparking a political backlash.

SNP MSP for Mid Fife and Glenrothes Jenny Gilruth said it was “beyond parody” that Councillor Kathleen Leslie was now a fully-fledged member of the Fife Council committee, which aims to “promote and maintain high standards of conduct by councillors”.

The appointment follows a furore over a series of inappropriate posts she made ahead of the 2014 independence referendum.

Ms Leslie, formerly a teacher at Woodmill High School in Dunfermline, called the then Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon a “drooling hag” and “wee Jimmy Krankie” in a tweet in November 2013.

She also labelled Lottery winning couple Colin and Christine Weir “uneducated fat f ***** s” after they donated millions to the Yes campaign.

Ms Leslie, who was required to resign from her post when she was elected councillor for Burntisland, Kinghorn and Western Kirkcaldy in May, has been banned from teaching following an investigation by the General Teaching Council for Scotland – although she herself said she wished to be struck off from the register after deciding not to take the issue to a hearing.

The 41-year-old from Dalgety Bay was formally appointed to the standards and audit committee with the minimum of fuss at Fife House in Glenrothes yesterday, replacing Dunfermline Central councillor Alan Craig.

However, the move was not universally welcomed.

Ms Gilruth said: “The comments from Councillor Kathleen Leslie were spectacularly ill-judged and insulting, and far from the behaviour the public expect from elected politicians.

“It is beyond parody that Ms Leslie has been appointed to the very committee which is responsible for the conduct of councillors, and upholding the standards which she is guilty of ignoring.

“This comes on the back of deeply disturbing comments by the Conservative leader on Fife Council not only defending Councillor Leslie, but also suggesting that many others share her views.

“There are serious questions to answer about how such behaviour can be swept under the carpet by Ruth Davidson’s Tory party.”

Councillor David Alexander, Fife Council co-leader and SNP group leader, said the appointment was a matter for the Conservative group.

But he concluded: “They need to reflect on their member’s conduct and also on the statement by their leader along the lines that a lot of them might think these things but she actually said it.

“If that reflects the feeling among Conservatives in Fife, I would question if any of them should serve on a standards committee.

“Hopefully, some of them may distance themselves from the comments made.”

csmith@thecourier.co.uk

Fife councillor Kathleen Leslie and, below, Jenny Gilruth MSP.