I'm not sure Edinburgh Council's big problem is too many Xmas parties

The Herald Scotland

14-06-2025

But in a 30-page report at the end of which Mr Dunion makes 15 recommendations, the last has attracted much attention, for the council to 'consider the appropriateness of social events and hospitality arrangements'.
Before anyone gets the impression that Edinburgh's City Chambers is awash with Bacchanalian excess, in my five years I never witnessed anything remotely untoward.
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Maybe I just wasn't invited to the hottest events, but my recollection, primarily of Conservative Group Christmas receptions, was of a few glasses of wine and supermarket nibbles ─ funded by us from our group subscriptions ─ and everyone mucking in to clear away in very good time to repair to a nearby boozer where it was someone else's turn to serve the drinks.
The Labour Group bash did have disco music and lights, but I didn't stay long in case I cramped their style. I was either unaware or not bothered if the SNP, Lib Dems or Greens threw parties, swell or otherwise.
But it seems the festive gatherings were too much for some who spoke to Mr Dunion, either that or he just didn't like the principle, but that wasn't the reason he was called in.
Of the other 14 recommendations in this keenly anticipated report to next Thursday's full council meeting, 12 involve a review of existing whistleblowing and complaints procedures, to consider a tweak here or a twiddle there.
Better record keeping, clear routes of complaint, better HR support for staff, and that kind of thing. There is a clear risk Mr Dunion will be accused of producing another whitewash, but although he did not have compelling authority, resources or time to dig deeper into the allegations, there is still plenty to make uncomfortable reading for some.
First, reading between the lines, I believe there is a strong inference that if the harassment allegations against Cllr Day had been substantiated - which they were not - they would at the very least have represented inappropriate behaviour for someone holding a prominent public role.
'Councillors are personally responsible for their own behaviour and for ensuring they meet the expectations of those holding office,' he wrote. 'It is not just about obeying but reflecting on how their behaviour may be regarded.' Quite.
Cammy Day outside the City Chambers (Image: free) Second, the 'neither confirm nor deny' response from Susanne Tanner KC, to the direct question of whether she had been made aware of previous allegations against Cllr Day during her 2021 examination of the council's whistleblowing culture, was rather undermined by former Education, Children and Families Vice-Convener Alison Dickie confirming she submitted a dossier of safeguarding allegations, including Cllr Day, to the Tanner Review team, and raised it with her in a subsequent meeting.
Strangely, I recall Ms Tanner was not so reticent in answering direct questions from Councillor Day about councillors' alleged behaviour ─ mine, and I was subsequently cleared by the Ethical Standards Commission ─ when presenting her report, but that's another story.
However, Mr Dunion's examination reveals that one senior Edinburgh councillor is a copper-bottomed, ocean-going liar who is unfit to hold public office. The councillor cannot be identified because there is no substantiating evidence. They were among those councillors emailed by Chief Executive Paul Lawrence in December last year to inform them about details of properties relating to Cllr Day, and the email contents appeared 'in its entirety' in the Daily Record shortly after.
Mr Dunion spoke to them all and each denied being the source. One of them is not telling the truth.
'There are not any proportionate means within the limited capacity of this review to pursue this further,' he said.
'There is no doubt however that this is a deliberate breach of the Councillors Code of Conduct. The almost immediate passing of this to the press, is a betrayal of trust.'
I know that if I was one of those who hadn't done the leaking, I'd be concerned someone might think it was me, and they have no way of showing they were not to blame.
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There are more obvious criticisms, particularly how then council leader Adam Nols-McVey handled allegations by a man who claimed to have been groomed as a 15-year-old in 2010 by an unnamed councillor ─ who Mr Dunion confirms was Cllr Day ─ when he was in care after suffering sexual abuse. The man had emailed Cllr Nols-McVey in 2018, when Cllr Day was his deputy, but Nols-McVey did not inform then Chief Executive Andrew Kerr.
He told Mr Dunion he spoke to a police chief superintendent who said nothing could be done without the name of either alleged victim or perpetrator. The email and subsequent messages from the alleged victim could not be traced because, Mr Dunion noted, the complaints were not shared and only retained in recipients' mailboxes.
Mr Dunion's conclusion is clear. 'The seriousness of the claim of potentially criminal behaviour by a councillor, who might be the Deputy Leader, is such that the emails should have been shared by the Council Leader with the Chief Executive and Monitoring Officer,' he said. 'They would then have been in a position to decide whether to contact the police.'
After the 2022 elections, the SNP-Labour coalition ended, and Cllr Nols McVey was replaced by Cllr Day as leader of a minority Labour administration. Mr Dunion doesn't say if that had any bearing on events. But Christmas parties? Forget it.
John McLellan is a former Edinburgh Evening News and Scotsman editor. He served as a City of Edinburgh councillor for five years. Brought up in Glasgow, McLellan has lived and worked in Edinburgh for 30 years