A councillor has been suspended by his SNP group.
Ron MacWilliam, who represents Inverness Ness-side, has been suspended pending a formal enquiry by the SNP group at The Highland Council.
Mr MacWilliam has previously criticised the Scottish Government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, however a SNP spokesperson said that was not the reason why he has been suspended and it is instead for “another serious matter”.
Councillor MacWilliam says he remains a SNP party member and looks “forward to setting the record straight”.
In a statement on Thursday, he said: “I want to make clear that I remain a member of the Scottish National Party and I look forward to setting the record straight at a disciplinary panel once the pandemic is over.
“I will, however, not sit back and allow politicians of any party, including my own, to act so slowly and evasively without question during the most horrific humanitarian crisis of the past century.”
The councillor intends to continue his work to build up a “community resilience network”.
He added: “Today I will be working with our partners at medic-led Med Supply Scotland to appeal for volunteers in a Scotland-wide action to shift unused PPE supplies from industry to our healthcare frontline.
“I will do so without distraction and so will our amazing volunteers.”
Ian Cockburn, co-leader of the SNP Highland Council group, confirmed councillor MacWilliam had been suspended two weeks ago due to issues “stemming back some six months or so”.
He added: “There will be a formal enquiry into his suspension after the Covid-19 pandemic situation is over.”
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