An Aberdeenshire councillor who quit the authority’s Liberal Democrat group after saying she was the victim of a witch hunt last night denied claims she had breached party rules.
Debra Storr, who was one of four councillors who controversially threw out Donald Trump’s golf proposals a year ago, said she had been targeted by colleagues after voting against the development and offering support to a fellow councillor at a meeting last month. Aberdeenshire Council leader and Lib Dem group leader Anne Robertson said fellow Lib Dems in the council had agreed to expel Ellon councillor Ms Storr after she broke rules.
Ms Storr tabled an amendment at an October meeting of the council regarding her colleague – Paul Johnston.
Mr Johnston’s conduct became the subject of discussion at the council meeting after he claimed during an interview that the authority offered Donald Trump a £5million “sweetener” as part of his bid to build his north-east golf resort – a claim all parties involved have strenuously denied.
A motion was passed at the October meeting agreeing to write to the Standards Commission to make it known that the council viewed the Mid-Formartine Lib Dem’s behaviour as a “serious breach” of the councillors’ code of conduct.
Two amendments were tabled on the day – one of which was Ms Storr’s, who proposed the council leave the matter in the hands of the Standards Commission.
Last night Ms Storr claimed the group agreed with her position, adopting it as their own just three days before the full council meeting.
And she claimed it was not until the morning of the meeting that Mrs Robertson announced that a “new” line would be taken, which was to write to the Standards Commission about Mr Johnston’s conduct.
Ms Storr quit the group on Tuesday.
She claims the Lib Dem group has not yet informed her of the decision it took to exclude her at a meeting on Monday night.
SNP councillor Rob Merson said last night: “It is patently clear that councillor Storr jumped before she was pushed.
“The Liberal Democrats have been papering over the cracks in their group for many months now, and this is just one more demonstration of the disharmony and acrimony which persists between them.”