Watchdog clears former Angus Provost over outburst that left colleague in tears

A watchdog has cleared the former Angus Provost Brian Boyd following an outburst which left a fellow councillor in tears.

A Standards Commission hearing was held earlier this month regarding his conduct towards fellow councillor Lois Speed last June.

The exchange unfolded when Cllr Speed began to ask a question before being interrupted by Mr Boyd, who stood up and said: “Cllr Speed, when I stand up, everyone here sits down,” before reading out the standing orders.

He added: “When the convener starts to speak, any member who is standing will resume his or her seat.

“No other member will stand and the convener will be heard without interruption.

“Have I made myself clear?”

Cllr Speed attempted to return to her question but was visibly emotional and left the room.

Mr Boyd had resigned as Provost following the incident, which came during a discussion regarding the removal of early years practitioner posts from primary one classrooms.

Councilor Speed had called an emergency motion at a full council meeting aiming to reverse this.

However, the motion was ruled not competent by Mr Boyd.

A report from the Standards Commission panel details that “on the face of it” Mr Boyd breached section 3.1 of the Councillors Code of Conduct.

This dictates that elected members should treat everyone with “courtesy and respect”.

However, the report added that having taken into account Mr Boyd’s right to freedom of expression under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, a formal finding of breach could not be made.

The panel also concuded that Mr Boyd’s outburst was not sexist in nature.

The report said: “The Panel considered that in, essentially, reprimanding her so publicly in circumstances where such action was not warranted, the respondent was disrespectful and discourteous towards Councillor Speed.

“The Panel nevertheless wished to make it clear that it accepted the respondent’s position that his conduct towards Councillor Speed had nothing whatsoever to do with her sex.”

However, the written decision also reveals that an Ethical Standards Commissioner (ESC) representative had argued that the conduct in question could have a “chilling effect” on Councillor Speed.

It added: “While the ESC’s representative accepted that the erspondent’s reaction did not relate to Councillor Speed’s sex, she contended nevertheless that it could have the effect of discouraging women from participating in politics.”