An East Ayrshire councillor has been reprimanded after leaking confidential emails concerning risks posed by combustible waste days before a fire destroyed the Victoria Buildings in Kilmarnock's King Street.
The Standards Commission for Scotland found Conservative Councillor James Adams breached four sections of the Councillors' Code of Conduct. The emails, which were sent via his personal account and shared with a contributor to the 'East Ayrshire Cooncil' Facebook page, contained details of council officers and discussions about legal obligations, service delivery, enforcement, and legal advice.
Councillor's defence
Cllr Adams accepted sending the correspondence but claimed he had not understood the information should be treated as confidential. He said he shared the emails while abroad after becoming angry at online criticism suggesting councillors had failed to act. He denied complaining about officers, despite the emails sparking public criticism of the council.
The Standards Commission panel said the emails were 'inherently confidential' and concluded Cllr Adams disclosed them 'at least in part, for personal or political advantage' as he sought to rebut criticism of his own record. The panel described the breach as 'serious in nature' and expressed concern that Cllr Adams had shown 'only limited insight' into the importance of following the Code.
Email transfer questioned
Cllr Adams, who represents Kilmarnock West and Crosshouse, told the hearing he had been active in raising concerns about combustible waste before the blaze, including contacting the council 36 hours beforehand. He was in Canada when the fire occurred and said he became angry after learning he and other councillors were receiving what he described as 'a bit of a pounding' online over alleged inaction.
He said: "I wanted to let them know that actually, far from doing nothing, I had been very active."
The circumstances in which the email chain moved between his council and personal accounts were closely questioned. Cllr Adams explained that council IT restrictions meant he could not copy and paste from emails or access Facebook from his council laptop. He said when the council sent him information it wanted posted on social media, his only means of copying it was to forward it to his personal account.
He told the panel: "It wouldn't be unusual for me to send an email and copy myself to my personal account."
Cllr Adams also said he had asked for his council phone to be configured before travelling to Canada and the USA so he could continue dealing with constituents, but was unable to access his council emails abroad. However, questioning established that the email chain was already accessible from his personal account while he was in Canada.
Panel member Lezley Stewart asked: "So you had the email [chain] in your personal account to be able to be accessed in Canada, which is why you sent it then from your personal email account?"
The hearing did not establish precisely when the chain was originally transferred to his personal account or the specific reason for doing so.
Findings and training
It was also revealed Cllr Adams had given another explanation during the Ethical Standards Commissioner's investigation, saying he routinely forwarded some correspondence because he considered it personal in nature and was uncomfortable with council officers having access to it.
The panel said his reasons did not alter the fact East Ayrshire Council policy clearly identified forwarding council emails to personal accounts as unacceptable use of its communications systems. It said Cllr Adams had a responsibility, 'as he would in any other job', to familiarise himself with the policy.
The panel ultimately found Cllr Adams had breached rules concerning confidential information and the use of council resources. However, it rejected allegations that he had breached provisions prohibiting councillors from undermining employees or publicly raising concerns about their performance, conduct or capability.
The panel took into account that the conduct was limited in duration, Adams had no previous finding of a breach, and had cooperated fully with the investigation and hearing. However, it said maintaining confidentiality was a key requirement of the Code and failures could damage the council's reputation and impede the discussions and decision-making needed for it to function effectively. The panel urged Adams to undertake further training on the Councillors' Code of Conduct and East Ayrshire Council policies to ensure he fully understood his obligations.
