SNP councillor suspended after '˜irregularities' probe

Councillor Shabbar Jaffri has been suspended by the SNP

Shabbar Jaffri, a councillor in Glasgow, has been removed after officers at the local authority uncovered inconsistencies in information he has provided.

The dossier of evidence has now been handed to police.

The SNP said the group’s 53-year-old former development spokesman had been placed on “administrative suspension”.

Mr Jaffri said he was unaware of the nature of the details provided to police but confirmed he had been suspended.

A Glasgow SNP group spokesman said: “Cllr Jaffri was placed on administrative suspension as soon as the SNP was notified and this will remain the case until the outcome of the investigation is known. Given the ongoing investigation, it would be inappropriate for us to make any further comment.”

It is also understood that, during the background checks, issues emerged around council tax, which then led to further suspected irregularities being uncovered and a subsequent investigation by the council’s internal audit. This probe ran for several months.

Although no specific allegations were made by the council, the findings of its investigation were handed over to Police Scotland several weeks ago.

Mr Jaffri said: “Like the group, I was only notified this had been passed to police some days ago. The decision to suspend me is not untoward. It’s a normal decision. The news has come as a surprise and shock to me and I’m trying to ascertain what has been referred to the police.

“I can’t think of any inconsistencies in the information I provided and I look forward to contact from the police. I am very curious about this and what any investigation might be about.”