Former council leader to be quizzed over post

Mr Scott, who was previously a senior journalist at the Southern Reporter for 16 years and also edited the Hawick News, was elected as a councillor for his Kirkwall East ward of the Orkney Islands Council in 2017.

The Orcadian newspaper – which covered the row in a recent issue – said Mr Scott is one of the most “visible” councillors on the island. A long-time advocate of local government transparency, Mr Scott has also been credited with introducing a more open regime in his time as chairman of the Orkney Health Authority, which he joined after moving north from the Borders.

The former honorary provost of Hawick spent many years in local government locally, as a Roxburgh District Councillor, elected member of the Borders Regional Council for Hawick West and as a Scottish Borders Councillor.

But it seems he has angered some of his fellow councillors in Orkney after he posted information on his Facebook page pertaining to a meeting held in private in March.

The Orcadian reported that a group of councillors had organised a meeting to discuss the Facebook post, which Mr Scott was not invited to.

That meeting led to the complaint by 15 of the councillors to the Standards Commission, and Mr Scott is set to face the commission on January 18.

We approached Mr Scott for comment, but he said he was unable to do so, thanks to a “strict stipulation” by the Standards Commission.