A GROUP of SNP councillors who caused anger when they burned a copy of the Smith Commission report in public have been restored to their previous roles in the party.
Party members in Renfrewshire voted to give the four their old jobs back after they were suspended for two months after a disciplinary hearing.
Brian Lawson, a former leader of Renfrewshire Council, was among the group which burned a copy of the report on strengthening devolution in front of the local authority headquarters in Paisley last December.
The stunt was filmed and posted on YouTube but later removed.
SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon described their actions as "unacceptable".
But Mr Lawson has returned to his former role as group leader on the Paisley-based council following a vote by the local party.
Kenny MacLaren, Mags MacLaren and Will Mylet were restored to their old jobs as secretary, treasurer and press officer respectively.
Douglas Alexander, the Labour MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire South, said: "Just weeks after publicly burning a report on the steps of the council headquarters, people will be shocked that Brian Lawson is now SNP leader in Renfrewshire.
"It seems that this kind of conduct is a cause for promotion in Nicola Sturgeon's SNP.
"What kind of message does it send when the SNP promotes someone who takes part in these shameful stunts?
"There will now be serious questions about why this sort of conduct is rewarded within the party."
He added: "It did a deep disservice to the political debate we are having here in Scotland.
"Discussion and debate is the lifeblood of our democracy, but publicly torching documents they disagree with has no place in a modern society."
An SNP spokeswoman said:
"The individuals concerned were suspended from the party for two months following a disciplinary hearing at the end of last year and returned to the SNP Group last month.
"Group office bearer positions are elected at the AGM each year, and Group members decided to re-elect those councillors to previously held positions. That's entirely a matter for members of the Group."
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