Neil Benny, leader of the Stirling Council Conservative Group, has been pressed for further information about racist comments made by the former Provost.
Douglas Dodds, the former Stirling Provost, resigned in November 2023, claiming health and personal reasons.
However, a Freedom of Information request found documents suggesting that an internal investigation was planned, regarding alleged office misconduct which included racist behaviour.
Internal council emails were released, and they showed multiple points for concern. These included potential abuses of hospitality, complaints from Stirling Council employees over Dodds’ conduct, and senior officers showed concerns regarding potentially racist remarks and behaviour from Dodds.
SNP Councillor, Gerry McLaughlan, said: “All is not well at Stirling Council. The resignation of Douglas Dodds as Stirling’s Provost last year came as no surprise – when the questioning began, the suspect ran. This FOI release is deeply concerning, and shows just what council officers have been up against with the hapless Labour/Tory partnership.
“Racist language, intimidation and careening into operational matters are clear breaches of the Councillors Code of Conduct. Emails contained in the FOI allude that Neil Benny was not cooperating with senior officers regarding their concerns about the Provost.
“Counsellor Benny must come clean, apologise for the behaviour of his group under his watch, and lay out clearly the steps he is taking to stop discriminatory behaviour from Tory councillors in future.”
Featured Image Credit: Stirling Council
Fourth year student journalist studying Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Journalism Studies.
Words at Brig, The Daily Evergreen, Alloa Advertiser, Discovery Music Scotland, and The Mourning Paper.
