A SENIOR Inverclyde councillor who was investigated over controversial comments on social media has been cleared of all charges.
Local SNP group leader Chris McEleny was reported to the Commissioner for Ethical Standards in February in relation to a message posted on Twitter in which he alleged that the Labour administration was 'using council resources' to issue a letter to residents about council tax rises.
Around 7,000 people on the four highest bands were contacted about the Scottish Government-enforced rise in the levy by the local authority's impartial chief financial officer.
The letters were sent at the request of all elected members, including Mr McEleny, and paid for from a Holyrood grant.
Councillor McEleny was reported to the commissioner, which investigates complaints made about elected representatives in Scotland, by council chief executive Aubrey Fawcett, pictured, over the tweet, ensuing rows which broke out between him and council officials and alleged criticism of them.
But following an investigation, Mr McEleny has now been cleared of all charges.
He said: "At the time the complaint was raised I stated that I had no case to answer.
"I also believed that ultimately this was a waste of public funds that did nothing but damage the reputation of our council and that of local government in general.
"I'd like to thank the Commissioner for Ethical Standards for the time that he was duty-bound to invest in the investigation.
"I welcome his findings that on every single allegation of a breach of standards that he has deemed that I have no case to answer for."
A council spokesman says the outcome of the investigation has been noted.
He said: "The council takes the promotion and upholding of standards seriously and will not hesitate to seek external referral when it is not possible to resolve differences from within its own resources.
"The council fully respects the commissioner's findings which are a normal and necessary part of the process of continuous review and maintenance of the highest standards in public life."
Council leader Stephen McCabe says he did not make any complaint about the matter and was not involved in the investigation or interviewed by the commissioner at any point.
Councillor McCabe added: "What I do know is that the council officers concerned would not have taken the very serious step of making a formal complaint against Councillor McEleny unless they felt they had no other recourse than to do so."
Mr McEleny says he would now like to draw a line under the matter.
He said: "It is now time that as a council we move on from this and together face the challenges that lie ahead."