A CONTROVERSIAL Labour councillor has been suspended by the party following his latest brush with the authorities.
Sohan Singh, who was elected to Glasgow City Council last year, was suspended pending investigations into a variety of allegations mainly related to his businesses.
It comes days after one of Mr Singh's hotels was banned from selling alcohol after it was found to have been trading without a liquor licence for more than a year.
Police Scotland officers entered the Artto Hotel in Glasgow last Friday, instructed management it was breaking the law by selling alcohol and ordered it to stop serving.
He had previously been suspended by the council's ruling Labour group for several weeks after admitting he parked in a disabled bay on council business to another local authority.
Mr Singh has had several other high-profile issues with the authorities, including criticism for operating illegally as a landlord and being warned about liquor law breaches at the Kelvin Lorne Hotel in Glasgow following police complaints.
He was also criticised by a senior Scottish Government minister for the condition of a hotel he owned in Crieff that led to the closure of an adjoining bank.
It is believed Glasgow City Marketing Bureau has been pursing debts of £1000 from the Kelvin Lorne Hotel for membership fees.
It is also understood he will still be expected to remain under the party whip at the council.
Senior sources within Labour have said the party "has run out of patience with Sohan", who is close to many senior Labour powerbrokers in Scotland.
The source said: "For a while people gave him the benefit of the doubt. There's a process you need to go through but people have run out of patience with Sohan. He's been written to and told and there will be some sort of investigation into this latest fracas."
Graeme Hendry, leader of the city council's SNP group, said: "That Councillor Singh has been suspended will surprise no-one other than those who really run Glasgow Labour. Since Councillor Matheson became leader there has been a pattern with numerous Labour councillors being suspended, but I believe Councillor Singh has now managed more suspensions than the others."
A Scottish Labour spokesman said: "Councillor Singh has been suspended from the Labour Group pending an investigation into recent newspaper reports. This investigation will be undertaken by the Scottish party."
Mr Singh declined to comment.
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