Press Releases

Office Of Administration And Hearings

Media Statement

Written decision of the Hearing Panel issued Friday, April 16, 2004

The Standards Commission for Scotland confirms its Hearing Panel finding that Councillor David Mylet and Councillor Derek Mackay, on two occasions, and Councillor James Mitchell, on one occasion, breached the principles of leadership and respect set out in section 2 of the Code of Conduct for Councillors' and of conduct in the Chamber or in Committee in section 3.14 of the Code during a meeting of Renfrewshire Council's Lifelong Learning and Work Policy Board on June 5, 2003. All of the Councillors complained against were not members of the Policy Board, but were allowed to remain. Thereafter they disrupted the meeting as detailed in the Chief Investigating Officer's Report.

Councillors David Mylet and Derek Mackay have each been suspended from taking part in all meetings of the Council, its Committees or Sub-Committees for a period of six weeks form Monday, April 19, 2004 up to and including Monday, May 31, 2004.

Councillor James Mitchell has been similarly suspended for a period of four weeks from Monday, April 19, 2004 up to and including Monday, May 17, 2004.

Despite the serious nature of these breaches of the Code the Hearing Panel are conscious that they occurred within five weeks of the Code coming into effect and each of the Councillors appeared to genuinely misunderstand that the Code would apply to what they considered to be purely political action.

However, it should be understood that this mitigating factor if unlikely to be available in any future cases and sanctions may consequently be more severe.

All three Councillors have received the Hearing Panel's detailed written decision on the breaches and the submissions made on their behalf.

The Panel also expressed its concern at the evidence from the witnesses, including Renfrewshire Council Officers, of an acknowledged "very long running feud" between the Labour and SNP groups.

Such behaviour makes the upholding of ethical standards and probity in public life very difficult.

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