A Highland hotel is at the centre of a row involving a high-profile SNP election candidate in Edinburgh.
Frank Ross, the deputy leader of Edinburgh City Council, faces claims he failed to declare his ownership of the Silverfjord Hotel in Kingussie.
He could now become the subject of an inquiry by the Standards Commission for Scotland into the apparent oversight.
Mr Ross and his family are believed to have recently purchased the 11-bed hotel for £160,000, before carrying out a refurbishment of the guest accomodation.
However, the business venture was not previously recorded on his register of financial interests at the local authority, as required under strict rules.
The shares had been added to the register yesterday after the issue came to light, with the ownership of the hotel noted to have been active since last October.
He also records a second home in nearby Newtonmore in his register of interests.
The Silverfjord Hotel was closed for about 18 months before re-opening to customers at the end of last year.
Mr Ross hopes to become the council leader in the Scottish capital next month if the SNP supplant Labour as the biggest party, and he is standing for re-election in the ward of Corstorphine and Murrayfield.
He told a national newspaper earlier this week that he had believed the interest had been registered and would “address that now”.
But Labour branded the senior figure a “complete liability” to his party as a row erupted over the omission.
Mr Ross, a trained accountant, was reportedly absent from the launch of the the SNP’s council campaign in Edinburgh yesterday after the issue was highlighted.
An Edinburgh City Council spokesman said: “Councillor Ross has informed us that he is updating his Register of Interest and will be submitting the relevant paperwork.”
