A north politician who is under pressure to give up her second role as a councillor has stuck to her pledge to donate her council salary to good causes.
Caithness, Sutherland and Ross-shire MSP Gail Ross has given £500 to Caithness Cats Protection and £500 to local dog rescue home to KWK9 Rescue.
The Wick councillor made the donations at a recent “adopt a pet” quiz night run by Pets at Home.
A number of opposition councillors have called on Mrs Ross to give up her seat on the local authority because they argue it would undermine her ability fulfil the functions of both roles.
But she has consistently defended her position, stating she made the decision to not resign after the uncertainty surrounding events at Westminster following the Brexit vote.
She said: “”When I said I was going to give my council salary away, I meant it and no-one will need to do a freedom of information request to check where it goes because I will be updating the public on a monthly basis.
“As a lifelong animal lover, giving Caithness Cats Protection and KWK9 a donation seemed like a good start. I am currently putting together a list of other local causes that I would like to benefit and I will be contacting them in due course.”
She added: “I will attend what meetings (council) I can but I am still handling casework, reading the papers and agendas I am sent and watching the webcasts. There are many councillors that have dual roles and a lot of them cannot make meetings. This has never seemed to be an issue until now.”
