Councillor suspended over teen 'deviant' slur

A councillor who wrongly accused a teenager of attempting to spy on girls in a school changing room has been suspended for two months.

Alastair Redman, who sits as an independent on Argyll and Bute Council, also described the 15-year-old as a "sexual deviant" because the child occasionally wore women's clothing, a standards hearing was told.

The Standards Commission for Scotland (SCS) found the comments made to an officer from the council's education department during a phone call were "disrespectful and discriminatory".

Councillor Redman, who was previously expelled from the Scottish Conservatives, has described the ruling as a "disgrace".

Councillor Redman, who represents the Kintyre and the Islands ward, was referred to the standards committee in January 2023.

He had contacted the education department after allegations from some parents that a boy had put video recording equipment in a local school's girls-only changing area.

During that call, he told the council officer because the child "cross-dressed," it was "likely" he put the recording equipment in the room.

He also said: "People who cross-dressed were more likely to be sexually deviant".

The school, which has not been named, and Police Scotland investigated the claims but found them to be untrue.

The SCS panel ruled councillor Redman "made a serious accusation on his own behalf," rather than on behalf of his constituents, which suggested the child had "undertaken a potentially criminal act".

The panel also said it was not provided with any evidence to show the accusation was "based on anything other than how councillor Redman understood the child occasionally dressed".

They ruled that constituted breaches of the Councillors' Code of Conduct and that the accusations were "serious and unsubstantiated".

Ashleigh Dunn, chair of the hearing panel, said councillor Redman "engaged in disrespectful and discriminatory" conduct.

She also noted that Mr Redman had not apologised for his actions.

She said: "The code of conduct does not prevent councillors from passing on concerns constituents raise with them to council officers.

"The panel considered, however, that councillor Redman could have done so without engaging in disrespectful and discriminatory behaviour.

"Councillor Redman effectively made a serious accusation on his own behalf (as opposed to just passing on what his constituents had allegedly told him), being both that the child had undertaken a potentially criminal act and was likely also 'sexually deviant'."

She added: "The panel considered that making such an accusation in the circumstances was disrespectful towards the child."

Councillor Redman was suspended from the Scottish Conservatives in 2019 for allegedly sharing Islamophobic and racist content on social media.

He was expelled from the party two years later.

He told BBC Scotland: "This ruling is a disgrace and a politically motivated attempt to silence me for standing up for the protection of girls' spaces.

"I was elected to represent my constituents and relay their safeguarding concerns—yet I am being punished for doing exactly that.

"This is not justice; it is an attack on free speech and democracy."