Edinburgh former council leader Cammy Day blocked from joining NHS Lothian board
The appointment of former Edinburgh council leader Cammy Day to the board of NHS Lothian has been blocked by Health Secretary Neil Gray.
The Scottish Government confirmed the move following media reports. But Cllr Day said no-one had told him and insisted he could make a "positive and valuable contribution" to the health board.
Cllr Day resigned as council leader in December 2024 and was suspended from the Labour Party after newspaper claims he had sent inappropriate messages to Ukrainian refugees.
But a police investigation found "no evidence of criminality" and Cllr Day was readmitted to the Labour group.
As part of his return to council duties he was appointed by the council in October to Edinburgh's Licensing Board and the NHS Lothian board. But now Neil Gray has intervened to stop the NHS Lothian appointment.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “In line with the Principles of Public Life, Ministers have a responsibility to ensure that NHS Boards operate with integrity and command public confidence.
“In this case it was concluded that proceeding with the appointment would not best support those objectives.
“Ministers will continue to engage constructively with the local authority to ensure the Board has the required councillor representation.”
Cllr Day said he had seen media reports about the move, but no-one had told him his appointment had been aborted.
He said: "I still haven’t received anything to let me know that my appointment to the board has been blocked by the Minister and, indeed, the last correspondence I received was from the NHS on Tuesday afternoon inviting me to attend their next meeting as an observer.
“From what I’ve read in the media, the Minister hasn’t specified his reasons but has, instead, chosen to quote the Nolan Principles of public life.
“Having been cleared by Police Scotland of all the allegations made against me over a year ago, this unprecedented intervention is clearly just the latest instalment in the SNP’s smear campaign – which now, it seems, extends to the highest level of government.
"Having chaired and served on numerous boards, including the Edinburgh Integration Joint Board at its inception, I still firmly believe I would make a positive and valuable contribution to the board and those we serve.”
Meanwhile, Green councillors have tabled a motion for next week's full council meeting over Cllr Day's use of a false name to complain about a fellow councillor.
Last month a Sunday newspaper reported that Cllr Day had called himself Charlie McGregor when lodging an official complaint with the Ethical Standards Commissioner in September about Ross McKenzie, a former Labour councillor who became and independent and has now joined the Greens.
The paper said the complaint was ruled to have no substance, but that during the investigation the commissioner established the complainer was Cllr Day.
And the paper quoted Cllr Day, when confronted, replying: "I acknowledge that my approach on this issue was wrong and I apologise unreservedly."
Edinburgh and Lothians Regional Equality Council (ELREC) issued a statement a few days after the story appeared, saying Cllr Day's position was no longer tenable and calling on him to resign.
Now Green councillor Chas Booth has put forward a motion labelling Cllr Day's actions "a serious error of judgement" and asking him to clarify whether he has used a false name to make any other complaints, representations or comments, to the Ethical Standards Commissioner or to any other body, or on social media, since he was first elected as a councillor.
The motion calls on the council leader to write to the commissioner on whether a councillor using a false name is likely to constitute a breach of the code of conduct.
And it urges her to write to ELREC requesting a meeting to attempt to restore trust between it and the council "should Councillor Day reject their calls for his resignation".
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