Death report of man found in Edinburgh city chambers toilet to be heard privately

A report into the death of a man in a toilet cubicle at Edinburgh City Chambers will be heard by councillors in private.

Sean Stephen, 38, was found dead in the customer service hub on site on July 7 last year, with his body in an ‘advanced state of decomposition’.

He had last been in touch with his wife on July 1, with his wife telling police that they had spoken on the phone when he was near the chambers.

In August, council leader and Labour councillor Jane Meagher announced that an independent investigation of the death would be carried out.

On Thursday, the city’s governance, risk and best value committee will consider the independent investigation report.

But the general public will not be able to attend the discussion around the report, or read its contents on the meeting agenda online.

Police Scotland said in early July last year that they had launched an investigation after Mr Stephen’s passing, but that his death was not believed to be suspicious.

At the time, a source told the Local Democracy Reporting Service his body had been discovered by cleaning staff, who had believed the toilet door was locked for days due to the facility being out of order.

It is understood that security staff were to check the toilets were empty at the end of every day, as part of their rounds, but failed to do so.