Aberdeenshire Council legal bosses have rejected the Press and Journal’s appeal to have details regarding the suspension of a Fraserburgh councillor made public.
Requests that the full minutes of a private committee which banned Ian Tait be made public under freedom of information legislation were rejected last month on the grounds that it was not in the public interest.
The council’s own review panel has now upheld the decision, agreeing that the documents remain confidential to prevent public confidence being undermined.
Mr Tait has been barred from almost all council meetings until mid-December after a conduct committee, held behind closed doors, found that “disrespectful” comments he made to volunteer workers almost two years ago had brought the local authority into disrepute.
It is not known what was said because a standing order bars anyone from revealing the details.
And it also emerged last month that the same rules could affect the veteran Independent councillor’s plans to appeal to the Scottish public services ombudsman.
The panel decided that “the public interest in maintaining the exemptions outweighed the public interest in disclosing the information”.
Its refusal notice added: “The review panel considered that public authorities should be entitled to carry out what are essentially disciplinary investigations outwith the public glare.”
The panel agreed with the council’s stance that releasing the papers may deter people from complaining about councillors in the future. Last night Mr Tait hit out at the decision. He said: “I am not surprised the review panel has refused the Press and Journal's request to get access to the full conduct committee papers.
“When an elected representative of the people is gagged from speaking out publicly, I believe that Aberdeenshire Council is veering towards a dangerously anti-democratic position which I find very worrying for the council and for individual councillors who want to speak out about any matters.
“In my opinion, the proceedings leading up to and following the conduct committee on April 7 give the appearance of a kangaroo court situation where everything is done in secret.”
He added: “It could happen to any councillor and that councillor could be damaged personally or politically as a result. Gagging me is a very dangerous precedent for democracy in Aberdeenshire Council and it must be resisted now at all costs.”