CONDUCT OF COUNCILLOR GORDON MURRAY

That this House notes the finding of Mr D.I.K. MacLeod, Writer to the Signet, in his report to the Secretary of State for Scotland on the appointment of Chief Officers by North Lanarkshire Council on allegations of pro-Motherwell bias in these appointments and his general conclusion that there is no validity in any such criticism; further notes the view of Mr MacLeod that SNP Councillor Gordon Murray 'played a significant part in the dissemination of the rumour' and his further observations that Councillor Murray's evidence to the inquiry and correspondence with Mr MacLeod 'was aimed at making political points rather than aiding me in ascertaining the truth' that his 'anxiety to make party political points had led him to ignore reality' and that he had a tendency to 'exaggerating and embroidery of the true facts'; requires the Leadership of the Scottish National Party to disassociate itself from the actions of Councillor Murray, apologise to the Councillors and Officers of North Lanarkshire Council and to state publicly what action they propose to take against Councillor Murray whose disgraceful conduct sought to maliciously damage the reputation of North Lanarkshire Council but in the event served only to damage the reputation of the Scottish National Party in North Lanarkshire and elsewhere in Scotland.