AN Argyll and Bute councillor will not be punished by the Standards Commission for Scotland after allegations were made about their conduct.
The Ethical Standards Commissioner (ESC) made a referral to the Standards Commission for Scotland on Thursday, April 2, after a complaint was lodged last year.
But a report has stated that it was deemed that the elected member, who is not identified in the document, should not face further investigation or a hearing.
The complaint alleged that the councillor (the respondent) criticised the complainant – also a councillor who is not identified – in a WhatsApp message and email that were copied to other councillors in August 2024.
It is also claimed that three months later, they told the complainant they did not like them and that they were lazy. The same month, they also reportedly made false allegations about a relative of the complainant.
The councillor is also said to have laughed at the complainant during a Teams meeting in August 2025, and reportedly mocked them by asking them if they would resign from a position.
The Standards Commission report said that the ESC had interviewed various parties present at the meetings in question and had found no evidence to support the allegations in November 2024. He also found no evidence to support the allegation of the respondent laughing in the Teams meeting.
It said: “In respect of the first issue, the ESC found the respondent criticised the complainer for not attending meetings in person and suggested she did not attend events when invited.
“The ESC advised he considered that the making of such criticisms would not meet the threshold for amounting to a breach of the respect provision in the code.
“There was no dispute that the respondent asked the complainer if she was going to resign from a committee position during the Teams meeting, which was with other councillors from their mutual political party.
“The ESC noted the complainer had advised his office that she had considered resigning the post before the meeting in question.
“In the circumstances, the ESC advised that he did not consider the respondent’s actions, in asking her whether she intended to do so, or even mocking her in this regard, would amount to disrespectful conduct.
“The ESC noted that councillors are subject to a high degree of scrutiny and may be challenged, criticised or even mocked in relation to their views, actions and performance. The ESC further noted that the respondent made his remarks in a private meeting, as opposed to a public forum.
“In the circumstances and for the reasons outlined above, he had not found any breach of the code by the respondent.”
The report added: “In considering proportionality, the Standards Commission noted that the ESC had not found any breach of the code had occurred.
“Having reviewed the evidence before it, the Standards Commission found no reason to depart from that conclusion.
“In the circumstances, the Standards Commission concluded that it was neither proportionate, nor in the public interest, for it to hold a hearing in respect of the complaint. The Standards Commission determined, therefore, to take no action on the referral.”
