Exclusive:Edinburgh Council spent £30k on probe into handling of Cammy Day complaints
The independent review by Kevin Dunion reported back in June
Edinburgh Council spent £30,000 on an investigation into the handling of allegations of misconduct by former leader Cammy Day.
The independent review by ex-Information Commissioner Kevin Dunion reported back in June, and found “inadequacies” in the handling of a complaint made against Cllr Day.
The Labour councillor stepped down as city leader in December last year after allegations he had sent inappropriate messages to Ukrainian refugees.
In April, the police said they had found “no evidence of criminality”. Cllr Day said he had been the victim of “a co-ordinated political attack”.
Mr Dunion found this complaint was handled well, but said there were “some inadequacies” in the handling of an earlier complaint in 2018. He said the 2018 complaint should have been shared with the council's chief executive and senior monitoring official at the time.
Elsewhere, his report raised concerns about a “culture of hospitality” involving alcohol within the City Chambers, as well as the leaking of information to the press.
A Freedom of Information request shows Mr Dunion’s investigation cost the council £30,000. A full breakdown of the costs was not available.
Cllr Day has denied any wrongdoing. He was welcomed back to the Labour Party in June after being cleared by police of inappropriate behaviour.
In April, he said: “While I knew in myself there was no case to answer, I am nonetheless relieved that the police investigation has reached the same conclusion and been closed without any action being taken.
“This has been the most difficult experience of my professional life and I’m grateful it’s over.
“I was not contacted or interviewed by the police, but many of my friends, family, and colleagues were questioned for hours about claims that were never put directly to me. I’m deeply upset that they had to go through that.
“I’m also hugely frustrated – as I know others will be too – that thousands of hours of police and council officers’ time have been wasted investigating what would seem to be nothing more than a co-ordinated political attack designed to undermine the leadership of this city.
“With spurious claims about my landlord arrangements having also been shown to be completely without merit, my focus now is on getting back to supporting my constituents and working alongside the council leader and Labour colleagues to serve our residents and promote our great capital city.”
At the time, a Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Following a report relating to inappropriate behaviour, extensive inquiries have been carried out, no criminality has been established and no-one has been arrested.
“Time is no barrier to our inquiries and any further information received will be assessed.
“I would urge anyone who wishes to report a crime, regardless of when it happened, to contact us so we can conduct a thorough and professional investigation.”
Cllr Day was approached for comment.
A council spokeswoman said: “In February, council unanimously agreed to appoint Kevin Dunion to lead the independent review. Given the seriousness of the allegations, it was important that this investigation was undertaken comprehensively.”
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