'New Scot' comment was not a conduct breach

An Aberdeen councillor who described an opponent as a "New Scot" did not breach the code of conduct, a watchdog has ruled.

The SNP's Kairin van Sweeden made the remark against Labour's Deena Tissera during an Aberdeen City Council meeting in 2023, and later apologised.

Ms Tissera, who was born in Sri Lanka, described the comments as "nothing less than racism".

Ms van Sweeden initially referred herself to the Ethical Standards Commissioner which found she did breach the code of conduct, but a separate watchdog, the Standards Commission for Scotland has now found she did not breach the code, and no action will be taken.

Ms van Sweeden told the meeting of the Standards Commission that she was surprised by the reaction to her comments.

The panel acknowledged that the reference to a "New Scot" distinguished Ms Tissera from someone who was born in Scotland or who had lived in the country for a long time.

However, they concluded she did not intend to be offensive, disrespectful or discriminatory.

Ms Tissera said she was "shocked and disappointed" by the decision.

Ms van Sweeden - who stepped back from her SNP party membership while her conduct was investigated - said she wanted to thank the Standards Commission for a "careful reading" of the evidence and "forensic scrutiny" of it.