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Which Sector? > Local Authorities > West Lothian Council > LA/WL/348, 349, 350, 354, 357, 358 and 373

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Complaint nos. LA/WL/348, 349, 350, 354, 357, 358 and 373 Concerning an alleged contravention of The Councillors' Code of Conduct By Councillor Duncan Maclean Of West Lothian Council

1. Complaint numbers LA/WL/348,349,350,354,357,358 and 373 alleged a contravention of the Councillors' Code of Conduct ("the Code") by Councillor Duncan Maclean ("the respondent"). Councillor Maclean is an Independent member of West Lothian Council ("the Council").

2. It was alleged that the respondent had contravened the Code, in particular, the key principles in section 2, paragraph 3.1 (General Conduct) paragraph 3.2 (Relationships with Council Employees) and paragraph 3.14 (Conduct in the Chamber or in Committee).

3. The persons complaining ("the complainants") alleged that comments attributed to Councillor Maclean in an article in the Edinburgh Evening News on 5 October 2005, on the provision, by the Council, of facilities for civil partnerships were offensive to gay and lesbian communities. Inter alia, Councillor Maclean is reported as having said, in relation to the Council's decision:

"It's political correctness gone mad. As the Bible teaches, "wrong- doers will not inherit the kingdom of God," and this includes lesbians and gays. If these people want to enter into a formal commitment, why don't they go to a lawyer and get them to sign a formal legal document? Why do these queers have to parade about in public?"

"I don't think I am offending any of my constituents as I know for a fact that none of my voters are gay. I am outraged that West Lothian Council have done this. It goes against all human reasoning. I've got nothing to say to gay rights groups who are complaining about my comments - there shouldn't be any gay rights groups anyway. I'm not going to be standing down."

4. The complainants described the comments as discriminatory, prejudicial, derogatory, inflammatory, intemperate, insensitive and disrespectful. Some of the complainants accused the respondent of inciting hatred and homophobia.

5. The Monitoring Officer indicated that, in a conversation which he had with him, Councillor Maclean confirmed that he had made the comments quoted in the article The key issues, therefore, were whether the comments had been made at the meeting of the General Purposes Sub Committee on 3 October 2005 (which approved the provision of facilities for the registration of civil partnerships) and, regardless of where the comments were made, whether they represented a breach of the Code.

6. Based on a transcript of the notes of the meeting of 3 October 2005 taken by the Committee Clerk and on the recollections of one of the Council's solicitors who was present at the meeting, it was established that the comments in question were not made by Councillor Maclean at the meeting. It was also established that Councillor Maclean had not made any offensive remarks at the meeting. Consequently his conduct did not fall to be considered in terms of paragraph 3.14 of the Code.

7. In relation to the wider issue of whether the reported comments, even if made outwith a formal meeting of the Council, could represent a breach of the Code it is appropriate to make it clear that the principle of freedom of expression is of fundamental importance within the democratic system within which politics in Scotland are conducted. Any restrictions in relation to the right of free expression must be narrowly interpreted and applied only when it is necessary to do so. I considered that no such necessity arose in this case.

8. Having considered the information that arose from my investigation, I concluded that Councillor Duncan Maclean had not contravened the Councillors' Code of Conduct.

D Stuart Allan,
Chief Investigating Officer.
Forsyth House
Innova Campus
Rosyth Europarc
Rosyth
Fife
KY11 2UU
23 December 2005