Perth & Kinross council leader Grant Laing quits after embezzlement charge

Perth & Kinross council leader Grant Laing quits amidst embezzlement charge

Grant Laing, the leader of Perth & Kinross Council, has stepped down with immediate effect after being charged with embezzlement.

The SNP has confirmed that he is no longer a member of the party.

Laing, who had led the local authority since 2022, will now serve the Strathtay ward as an independent.

This afternoon the local authority said he had left the leadership post for personal reasons.

Deputy council leader Eric Drysdale will now step in as acting leader, pending the next full meeting of the local authority at the end of October.

Police Scotland confirmed that a 63-year-old has been charged with embezzlement in the Perth area, which took place across an eight-year period from 2017 and 2025. A report will be sent to the procurator fiscal.

Commenting on Laing’s resignation, Drysdale said it “has come as a shock to all of his councillor colleagues”, but they would “step up [their] efforts to fill the gap his departure will leave”.

He said: “Grant has given his all in the role of leader of Perth and Kinross Council for the last three-and-a-half years, driven by his wholehearted commitment to our group's core principles underpinned by a vision of a Perth and Kinross where everyone can live life well, free from poverty and inequality.”