Reform councillor censured for ‘aggressive’ shouting at official

A Reform UK councillor has been censured for “aggressive” shouting at a senior port worker.

Alan Buchan, who sits on Aberdeenshire Council, was reported to the standards watchdog after an altercation with a senior employee at Peterhead Port Authority.

He has now been censured after a probe found that his behaviour had been “antagonistic” and in breach of the Councillors’ Code of Conduct.

Malcolm Bell, a member of the Standards Commission for Scotland, said Buchan’s behaviour had been “disrespectful” to the official.

The incident happened at the port authority’s headquarters in October.

Buchan, who represents Peterhead North and Rattray, joined Nigel Farage’s party.

The former fisherman spent almost 20 years as an independent councillor before becoming a Reform UK representative in February.

Buchan was leaving the port authority meeting when the senior employee approached him about his previous criticisms of the way the body is run. Announcing the censure, the standards commission said that Buchan “made a number of accusations about the port authority and, in doing so, shouted and behaved in an angry, argumentative and antagonistic manner”.

The investigating panel found that his conduct had been “aggressive and entirely inappropriate for a professional context”, and would have been perceived as “antagonistic”.

It said there was “no reason” that the experienced councillor could not have reacted “calmly and courteously”.

Bell stated: “The requirements for councillors to treat everyone with whom they come into contact in their capacity as elected members with respect is a key provision of the councillor’s code. The panel noted that a failure to comply with the code’s provisions in this regard can adversely affect the rights and reputations of others. It also has a detrimental effect on how a public body’s business is conducted and decisions are made which, in turn, erodes public confidence in the public body itself.”