SNP call for Stirling Council meeting to discuss watchdog hearing into Labour councillor's conduct

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Stirling’s SNP councillors are calling for a special meeting to be held to “discuss and agree action that should be taken” against a councillor facing a standards hearing.Last week, we told how Labour councillor for the Stirling North ward, Danny Gibson, is set to appear before a hearing of the Standards Commission for Scotland over an allegation he breached the Councillors’ Code of Conduct.Cllr Gibson is accused of contravening the code on issues of “respect and courtesy” and those relating to taking decisions on “quasi-judicial or regulatory applications”.The hearing will take place at Stirling Council’s headquarters at Old Viewforth on June 21.The Stirling SNP group last week wrote to the council leader, Labour’s Chris Kane, calling for Cllr Gibson’s suspension from all committees pending the hearing outcome.Now they are calling for a special meeting to discuss the matter further after they claim they received no response from Cllr Kane.Last week, Cllr Gibson told the Observer that the hearing relates to a “belated complaint submitted by an opposition councillor” concerning historical matters which were successfully resolved within the council many years ago now.He added: “This individual seems particularly aggrieved that matters were resolved and they have sadly sought to weaponise the standards process for their own ends.

Click here for more news and sport from the Stirling area. “This is clearly politically motivated and I very much hope the commission will see it for what it is.”This week, Councillor Gerry McLaughlan, the Stirling SNP group business convener, responded to those comments, describing them as an “attack on the impartiality of the Standards Commission”.Cllr McLaughlan said: “Cllr Gibson’s subsequent