Trump row councillor hits back over ‘out of order’ behaviour

A COUNCILLOR has hit back at colleagues for reporting her to Scotland’s local government watchdog over a row about Donald Trump’s golf resort.

Councillor Debra Storr, a leading opponent of the resort, has been reported to the Standards Commissioner by a cross-party group on the Formartine area committee of Aberdeenshire Council.

The group alleges her behaviour at a meeting to discuss the US tycoon’s plans for a new clubhouse was “out of order” and breached the councillors’ code of conduct.

The leader of the Democratic Independent Group, of which Ms Storr is a member, has now also written to the watchdog, alleging she has been the victim of “bullying and intimidation”.

Ms Storr said she was “saddened” her fellow councillors had lodged a complaint against her but was confident she would be cleared of any wrongdoing.

She said: “It’s a piece of nonsense. The claims are completely unfounded. I did make some very robust comments about Trump’s plans for the clubhouse but the chairman of the committee didn’t see any reason to pull me up.”

The row follows a heated debate at a meeting of the area committee in January when the planning authority approved plans for the new clubhouse at the Menie estate.

At the end of the meeting George Sorial, the Trump Organisation’s managing director of international development, confronted Ms Storr and branded her a “disgrace” after she launched a vitriolic attack on the controversial design for the tycoon’s new clubhouse. Ms Storr described the design as “laughable” and claimed it looked like a “Victorian lunatic asylum”.

Mr Sorial confronted Ms Storr in the council chamber and told her: “You are a disgrace. You are going to be looking for another job in May.”

Ms Storr said yesterday: “George Sorial came and shouted and ranted at me. So if anybody’s behaviour at that meeting was unacceptable, it wasn’t mine.”

Seven members of the area committee – two Conservative councillors, two Liberal Democrats and three Scottish Nationalists – have called on the Standards Commissioner to investigate whether Ms Storr breached the councillors’ code of conduct and to consider appropriate action, including possible suspension from the chamber.

Paul Johnston, chairman of the group of Democratic Independent councillors, announced yesterday that he had also written to the local government watchdog, accusing the seven-strong group of councillors of using the complaints procedure “improperly”.