Former city council finance boss Willie Young has declared himself “completely vindicated” by a report into the “wallgate” scandal – and revealed he is considering legal action against political rivals and the local authority.
The long-awaited findings of an internal review into how nearly £200,000 of public money was spent on repairs to a wall and cycle path near Mr Young’s home without ever being sent to a committee for scrutiny was finally published last night.
It exposed a litany of errors by officials – including multiple missed opportunities to seek formal approval from elected representatives and a failure to keep any records of the process.
The fiasco – which the council admitted had left it vulnerable to challenges – has been referred up to national watchdog Audit Scotland,
But rival councillors said there were still many unanswered questions and complained the public would feel the issue was being “swept under the rug”.
The heavily-redacted report released to the public was a summary of the main investigation – with the full findings kept secret and seen only by members of the audit committee.
Council officers approached Mr Young for consent to begin the works at Wellington Brae near his home, funded by cycling charity Sustrans.
But it later emerged the land was actually owned by his father after Mr Young disposed of it more than 20 years ago.
When the situation was exposed in April, just nine days before the local elections in which the senior figure was defending his seat in the Bridge of Don ward, the council immediately suspended the work and launched an investigation.
The work was later restarted and completed although Mr Young narrowly lost his seat – saying Wallgate was a “major factor”.
The report concluded: “Councillor Young did not require to declare a conflict of interest because he had not been asked to make a decision as a councillor on the works or the grant but rather to provide his consent as a landowner.”
It said: “Whilst the failure to report to committee is undoubtedly a serious matter, it has not been possible to obtain sufficient evidence which would allow specific officers to be held accountable for any inaction or negligence.
“There is no record kept of what actions were taken and why. There is no record of the dates and attendance of meetings, or what was agreed. This means that the council is unable to prove due diligence, placing it at legal and reputational risk, and leaving it defenceless against claims.”
Last night Mr Young said there had been “atrocious failures in governance” at the city council and called on chief executive Angela Scott to be present at next week’s audit committee meeting where the report will be debated.
He said: “People always talk about the wall but this was a huge cycle path project. The beneficiary wasn’t me but the people of the city.
“I know this was a dirty tricks campaign by the SNP that went all the way up to the First Minister. I suppose I relish that I was considered such a thorn in their side.
“I am now considering my next course of action, I have a legal opinion that I am in an excellent position for a defamation action for those who said I benefitted from this, and I’m also considering my position with the council itself.
“I am glad this report has completely vindicated me after these allegations tarnished my reputation.
“What the report makes clear is that nobody knew who owned the land, there are clearly atrocious failings in governance here.”
Liberal Democrat Martin Greig, whose group leader Ian Yuill was the first to raise concerns to council staff, said: “The report is welcome as we move slowly towards getting an explanation. It is clear that there was a failing in the political leadership of the Council. There will no doubt be tactical attempts to shift the blame to officials.
“It appears that officials were struggling against the odds to ensure the recording of information and a steer in this project.”
