A TORY “civil war” involving bullying and top-level resignations has been brought to a close after a restructuring of a local authority’s leadership.

Tory-controlled Moray council has been rocked by scandal after former leader Marc Macrae resigned after he was called unfit for office after bullying a member of council staff allegations surfaced just months after taking office.  

He had been facing a no-confidence vote because he had used "inappropriate language" towards the council employee. Macrae has said he was "not proud" of it and had apologised to the person concerned. 

He has now been replaced by Tory councillor Kathleen Robertson, who formerly co-led the council with Neil McLennan who quit the party citing concerns about its ability to respond to bad behaviour by members.

McLennan refused to quit as co-leader, resulting in a push to restructure the council’s leadership which passed on Wednesday in which he was forced out.

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Robertson now chairs meetings of the council and leads the administration – something akin to the Speaker of the House of Commons also being the Prime Minister.

The SNP opposition said they hoped the change “draws a line under” months of wrangling.

Graham Leadbitter, Moray SNP leader, said the minority Tory administration had to “get a grip and just get on with it”.

He told The National McLennan clinging on to his position as co-leader had paralysed the council.

“This is an unholy mess that is wholly the creation of the Conservative Party,” Leadbitter added.

“Internal strife and civil war within their group has resulted in the council standing still at a time when we have a cost-of-living crisis and climate change to deal with.

“Those issues which require constant attention have been put on the backburner.”

Conservative Councillor Donald Gatt has been appointed deputy leader – a newly created role – while independent councillor John Cowe appointed civil leader, a largely ceremonial role.

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Robertson said: “I appreciate the understanding of fellow councillors across the chamber during this time of re-structuring of the leadership roles.

“I believe we have a reliable team in place to create the stability necessary to progress council policies in a most effective and collaborative manner over the coming months and years.

“We must move forward as a local authority and I look forward to working with all colleagues to lead that progression on behalf of the people of Moray, who, rightly, expect a high standard of professionalism from us as an official body.”

Gatt added: “I appreciate this role is a change from what we’ve previously been used to in Moray and I look forward to developing it over time. I see this as an opportunity to support the Council Leader and work with colleagues to move a progressive Moray Council forward.”

Leadbitter previously accused Labour councillors of “allowing the Tories in through the back door with a minority of votes” after the council turned from SNP to the Conservative control following this year’s local elections.

Macrae said: "As I have said before I very much regret the incident which saw me use inappropriate language towards a member of staff.

"There is no excuse for such behaviour and I immediately apologised then and the matter was closed by the local authority. 

"Subsequently the matter was investigated by the Standards Commission but was closed early as the matter had been dealt with.

"This was a grave error of which I was not and am not proud of, and I am disappointed that it has been brought up again.

"The decision of the council today in appointing a new leadership team allows the focus to be on the hard work ahead and not that of past issues from a previous council.

"I look forward to working with all councillors to face the difficult times and provide the best service to the people of Moray."