Council does U-turn on Royal break

A COUNCIL has given its staff a holiday to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee – after its new leader claimed the original ban was due to the SNP’s “vindictiveness” towards the royal family.

East Lothian’s previous SNP/Lib Dem administration had claimed the holiday would cost £500,000. However, following Labour and the Conservatives taking control, staff have been given the day off.

Labour’s new council leader Willie Innes said: “We all know what it’s about – it’s about the SNP’s petty vindictiveness against the royal family and it’s a shame.”

But SNP councillor Stuart Currie said: “There are bigger issues, I would have thought, to come to the first meeting of a Conservative/Labour coalition.”