A council leisure quango has announced an independent investigation into the sacking of its general manager after a tribunal branded the process biased and unreasonable.

Gerry Campbell was sacked from his role as general manager of South Lanarkshire Leisure and Culture (SLLC) after officials from the area’s council botched an investigation into claims he mishandled a staff grievance.

An employment tribunal found that a string of errors by council leaders and staff led to his unfair dismissal, while he also won claims for breach of contract and unfair dismissal.

An internal row over how things should progress also led to the then SLLC chair, Councillor David Watson, being forced from his post with the body, resulting in him withdrawing from the SNP.

SLLC has now announced that it will instruct an independent legal firm to look at what went wrong in Mr Campbell’s case, however opposition councillors fear this will not go far enough.

Councillor Joe Fagan, leader of the South Lanarkshire Labour Group, said: “There should be a full inquiry into all aspects of how this case was handled, by both the Trust and the Council.

“The tribunal findings raise serious questions about the actions of senior councillors in overruling the previous chair of SLLC. Those councillors must be accountable for their decisions.

“To ensure the lessons of this case are fully learned, there must be full cooperation with a comprehensive inquiry.”

Mr Watson, now an independent councillor, added that the investigation must look at the decisions taken by key council figures, including leader John Ross, deputy leader Maureen Chalmers and business manager Peter Craig.

He said: “There needs to be an independent investigation into the actions of council staff who were involved in this fiasco.

“The council’s political leadership should resign or be removed from post as they have shown themselves not fit for public office. If they refuse to resign, the SNP, nationally or locally, should remove them from their candidates list.

“Their actions nearly destroyed the reputation of a long term and respected member of staff and put him and his family under extraordinary pressure.”

Mr Campbell was dismissed in 2019 after a grievance was made by a member of staff involving senior management.

SLLC received external legal advice which stated that as it was an Arms-length External Organisation, it had to be “truly independent” of the local authority should not involve it in the grievance procedure.

Despite this, officials from the council insisted on stepping in and went on to remove Mr Watson from post when he disagreed.

Mr Campbell was also then subject to a disciplinary for allegedly failing to follow the legal advice.

A string of errors by council officials, including failing to interview key witnesses, reporting inaccuracies as fact, and non-impartial panel members being appointed to the disciplinary hearing, then led to his dismissal.

The employment tribunal found that the process was “biased against [Mr Campbell]” and “well outside the band of reasonable procedures”.

The tribunal also said it was “struck” by the way the council’s leaders removed Mr Watson from post when he disagreed with the plans.

Mr Watson, who had been an SNP member for 38 years, left the party shortly after this and wrote to SNP chief executive Peter Murrell about his concerns but received no response.

He has written again following the tribunal’s decision and is still awaiting a reply.

A spokesman for SLLC said: “The SLLC Board met on 10 February and asked the General Manager and Company Secretary to take forward an independent review in order that lessons can be learned.

“The exact scope and timescales are being determined but it is likely that the review will be undertaken by an independent external employment law provider who has no previous involvement in the process.”