A Scottish councillor suspended for two months after making allegations about a 15-year-old pupil during telephone conversations with a council education official has warned that disciplinary action against elected representatives is putting local democracy at risk.
Alastair Redman, an independent Argyll and Bute councillor, was found by the Standards Commission for Scotland to have breached the councillors’ code of conduct by suggesting in a private conversation that a pupil was likely to have placed recording equipment in girls’ toilets or changing rooms because he cross-dressed, and by saying people who cross-dressed were more likely to be sexually deviant.
The panel described the accusations as serious and unfounded, and suspended him from council duties for two months.
Mr Redman maintains that he was raising safeguarding concerns passed on by local parents and constituents, and has become the latest to question the fairness of the disciplinary process and the wider implications for elected representatives who raise sensitive issues on behalf of the people they represent.
“The action taken against me creates a ‘climate of fear’, punishing an elected representative for actively raising sensitive, good-faith safeguarding concerns passed on by local parents and constituents,” he said.
“When a code of conduct is leveraged to penalise a councillor for performing their basic duties of scrutiny and democratic representation, it places local democracy itself at serious risk.”
The Standards Commission said it "does not consider that holding councillors accountable for conduct found to breach the code creates a 'climate of fear'."
It comes after The Herald discovered that the 'freedom of speech' workload involving councillors has increased substantially. In 2024/25, 244 distinct councillor cases were investigated over potential code breaches, compared with 111 ten years earlier.
The growing caseload, the use of suspensions and a series of disputed cases have prompted serious questions about how the rules are being interpreted and whether enough protection is given to legitimate political criticism.
Lord Sandison found the Standards Commission for Scotland had "shut its ears" to freedom of speech campaigner Fiona Higgins' fight to have documents admitted that were central to her defence against misconduct over a social media post accusing a former Glasgow finance director of misleading councillors and the public.
The Redman case arose from telephone conversations he had with the council’s education manager on January 11 and 13, 2023, after concerns were raised about a boy allegedly using female toilets or changing rooms at a school in the council area.
Glasgow councillor Fiona Higgins (Image: Colin Mearns)
The Standards Commission found that Mr Redman went beyond passing on concerns from constituents and advanced his own allegations about the pupil, who was then 15. It concluded that he had breached three provisions of the councillors’ code covering courtesy and respect, discrimination, and bullying and harassment.
In its written decision, dated February 24, 2025, the commission said Mr Redman, who represents the Kintyre and the Islands ward, had suggested that, because the child cross-dressed, he was likely to have placed video recording equipment in girls’ toilets or changing rooms. It also found that Mr Redman had said people who cross-dressed were more likely to be sexually deviant.
The panel said it had not been given evidence supporting the allegations and found that they were based on hearsay and Mr Redman’s understanding of how the child occasionally dressed. It said councillors were entitled to report concerns raised by constituents, but found Mr Redman had made serious accusations in his own right rather than simply passing on what others had told him.
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The commission suspended Mr Redman from all council and committee meetings, and other bodies where he represented or had been nominated by the council, for two months .
Mr Redman has described the sanction as “a politically motivated overreach” and says his experience raises wider questions about how Scotland’s standards system handles complaints against elected representatives.
“My situation directly intersects with this broader narrative of institutional overreach and procedural flaws,” he said.
Alastair Redman (Image: Argyll and Bute Council)
He has also challenged the evidence used to reach the decision, arguing that the case relied heavily on the account of one council officer and notes of their telephone conversations.
Mr Redman argues that the process raises questions about whether councillors can adequately challenge the evidence used against them.
“In a traditional common law court, a brief suspension like this would struggle to hold up under scrutiny, as it essentially relies on one person's word against another without robust, corroborated evidence,” he said.
The panel considered Mr Redman’s right to freedom of expression under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects freedom of expression. It acknowledged that political speech, including at local government level, receives enhanced protection and that there is limited scope for restricting debate on matters of public interest.
It also accepted that the use of female-only spaces and wider questions surrounding transgender and women’s rights were matters of public concern. But it did not accept that unsubstantiated allegations about an identifiable child’s conduct, clothing or potential sexual deviancy attracted the same enhanced protection.
The panel concluded that the restriction on Mr Redman’s freedom of expression was justified and proportionate to protect the rights and reputation of the child and maintain public confidence in local government. It rejected his argument that the proceedings would have a chilling effect on councillors raising concerns.
The decision said Mr Redman could have passed on his constituents’ concerns and asked for the matter to be investigated without making the allegations the panel found breached the code.
He has lodged formal complaints with the Information Commissioner’s Office Scotland team and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities.
Mr Redman says his experience illustrates the wider challenge facing councillors who believe they must be able to question decisions and raise issues on behalf of their communities.
He is compiling a timeline of the events, correspondence with the council’s education service and material submitted during the proceedings. He says he intends to use that record, alongside his requests for information, to examine how the case was handled.
The Standards Commission said: "The Councillors’ Code of Conduct plays a vital role in setting out, openly and clearly, the standards councillors must adhere to when undertaking their council duties. It is paramount that the code continues to give assurance to the public that their elected members are acting in accordance with high ethical standards. The Code does not stop councillors from doing their jobs effectively; it simply sets standards of conduct that help ensure they treat others with respect and maintain confidence in local government.
"When determining whether there has been a breach of the Code, Standards Commission Hearing Panels consider the specific facts and circumstances of each case. If a breach of the code is found, any sanction imposed is determined on its own merits, taking into account the nature and seriousness of the breach and all relevant mitigating and aggravating factors."
They added: "The ethical standards framework is designed to support respectful, constructive and accountable conduct in public office while recognising the importance of robust political debate and scrutiny."