A LABOUR councillor has been suspended by Stirling Council for five months after he was found to have behaved disrespectfully and bullied a senior council officer.
Councillor for Stirling North, Danny Gibson, previously served as deputy council leader.
A panel on Friday imposed the ban, finding that he had breached the Councillors’ Code of Conduct.
Witnesses said he behaved disrespectfully on multiple occasions, belittled council staff and issued a “personal attack”.
One of the claims against Gibson alleged that he spoke to council officers – including senior councillors – with a lack of respect.
Another found that he had become inappropriately involved in operational matters by attempting to pressure officers to take certain courses of action.
Following the panel’s decision, chair Ashleigh Dunn said: “In this case, the panel found that Cllr Gibson’s conduct, towards council officers and others, was entirely inappropriate and unacceptable.
“The panel considered that councillors should be aware of the inherent influence their role brings and should note that as elected politicians, they are in a position of power over council employees. The panel therefore emphasised the importance of the requirement for councillors to behave respectfully towards council officers, in order for officers to be able to undertake their tasks without being belittled, or subjected to bullying, unwarranted pressure or interference.
“The Standards Commission considers that such serious breaches of the Code have the potential to interfere with the effective operation of the council, to undermine the important relationship between council officers and elected members, and to bring the council into disrepute – as well as potentially exposing it to successful legal challenge. As such, the panel concluded that a five-month suspension was the appropriate sanction in the circumstances.”
In a statement issued on Friday, the Standards Commission for Scotland said: "Following a Hearing held in Stirling on 21 June, 2023, Stirling Councillor Danny Gibson was found by the Standards Commission to have breached the Councillors’ Code of Conduct for behaving disrespectfully towards council officers, and for having bullied a senior council officer. Cllr Gibson was suspended for a period of five months."
A full written decision will be issued and published on the Standards Commission’s website within 14 working days.
