A freshly elected Moray councillor refuses to answer questions on whether he will stick to a controversial campaign promise.
Elgin City North member, Sandy Cooper, vowed to donate £1,000 of his annual authority salary to each of the five schools in his ward upon election.
The cash would total nearly a third of the £16,893 basic wage for councillors.
His opponents questioned the morality of the pledge, which Mr Cooper included on leaflets distributed across the ward.
The Electoral Commission warned that if Mr Cooper hands over the money then it could prompt a bribery investigation.
After securing the seat with 532 first preference votes last Friday, Mr Cooper declined to answer any questions about whether he would keep the commitment.
When questioned again yesterday, Mr Cooper repeated the phrase “I will deal with that situation when it arises” five times.
He would not confirm that he intends to go through with the vow.
The election agent for Mr Cooper’s Labour rival Nick Taylor, Stuart MacLennan, says he will monitor Mr Cooper’s dealings.
Mr MacLennan said: “We will certainly be keeping a close eye on him, if he does donate the money then we will make sure that the relevant authorities know about it.
“If he does not, then we will make sure that the people who voted him in know about it.”
It is understood that Mr Cooper’s first council pay packet will arrive on the final Thursday of the month.
Mr MacLennan said that, at that point, he would investigate whether any cash had been offered to schools.
Those that could benefit from Mr Cooper’s donation are Bishopmill, Seafield, East End and St Sylvester’s primary schools and Elgin Academy.
Mr Cooper has also come in for criticism for failing to disclose that he previously stood for election for the Conservative party.
In promotional material he said he had never been “a member of any political party”, despite standing for election as a Tory in the 1990s.
Yesterday, Mr Cooper stressed that he remains a “true Independent”.
He said he has no intention of aligning himself with either the council’s SNP or Tory groups as they seek to form a majority administration by joining with Independents.
