Flea wants Sandy to go

Shetland South councillor Allison Duncan has called for the resignation of Shetland Islands Council convener Sandy Cluness.

At lunchtime on Thursday Mr Duncan issued the following statement:

“It is with regret that I am today calling on Convener Sandy Cluness to resign his post. I have told him so to his face and in front of my fellow councillors.

“I do this because, notwithstanding the Convener’s long record of public service, my reading of the Accounts Commission report into the affairs of Shetland Islands Council makes it plain, to me at least, that the Convener has presided over, and largely been responsible for, a catalogue of serious errors that have brought this council into disrepute.

“I believe he has lost the confidence of the majority of the electorate. As I see it, the only way he can continue as Convener is if he now seeks a vote of confidence from his fellow councillors who, like me, will know what their constituents are telling them and, I hope, vote accordingly.

“I have thought long and hard about this and wish to avoid personal unpleasantness but I have come to the conclusion that my duty is to speak out and ‘tell it like it is’. The Convener should do the honourable thing and resign.”

Mr Cluness was unavailable for comment on Thursday afternoon.