Labour councillors in Glasgow have called the police on each other after messages from a WhatsApp group chat were leaked to journalists.
Details of the “serious issue of the leak” were recorded in a minute of a group meeting on March 17, which was then itself subsequently leaked to The Herald.
Startlingly, the minute also notes that apologies were received from Philip Braat as he was unable to attend the meeting.
The former Lord Provost has been accused of stalking his former partner and is due to stand trial later this year.
He has made a plea of not guilty, and is currently on bail. Cllr Braat was suspended by Labour in December.
Some other councillors who did not attend the meeting were recorded as “absent,” suggesting that Cllr Braat notified the group he was unable to attend.
The party said it was an administrative error and not a reflection of his position in the group.
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The minute shows that group leader George Redmond and Councillor Anne Jenkins both addressed the group over the leak.
It states: “Bailie Jenkins addressed the serious issue of the leak from the private Whatsapp group to the National newspaper. Members in attendance expressed deep frustration over the breach of trust.”
It then goes on to state that Councillor Elaine McDougall “informed members that she has reported the matter to the police, as the disclosure of personal phone numbers is completely unacceptable2.
She then “stressed that such actions are a severe violation of confidentiality, and the individual responsible should be ashamed of their conduct".
Tensions in the council group have been fraught in recent weeks, particularly following the debacle around the North East ward by-election where a new Scottish Labour councillor was barred from office four days after being elected.
Mary McNab was blocked from taking her seat after failing to quit her job with the authority, in breach of the Local Government Scotland Act.
It is understood Ms McNab had asked a line manager for advice, as she had, prior to being selected as Labour's candidate, negotiated an early retirement settlement and was concerned about potentially losing her so-called 'golden goodbye'.
The council made clear that neither she nor Labour spoke to the Returning Officer or the local authority’s HR team.
Labour lost the subsequent by-election to the SNP.
It was one of two by-election defeats for the party, with Mhairi Hunter — a close ally of former first minister Nicola Sturgeon — winning the Southside Central vote, triggered by the death of veteran Labour councillor James Scanlon in December.
Labour councillors were called to a post-mortem meeting on Saturday to discuss what went wrong with the two votes.
There have been suggestions there could be a shake up of the group's leadership at the AGM in May.
The messages leaked to the National appear to show frustration over the by-elections.
Bailie Sharon Greer told colleagues: “When I email HQ asking who the [North East] candidate is I get no reply,” someone called Sharon complained in a message weeks before the vote.
“Me, I am on the back foot with it all. So to be honest I have decided to just go with the flow. Games a bogie!”
Cllr McDougall then responded: “It’s awful, we already have an uphill struggle as it is.”
A Glasgow Labour spokesperson said: “The SNP has been failing the people of Glasgow for too long, leaving local services at breaking point and local businesses struggling. Labour is working to deliver for this fantastic city and give it the champions it deserves."
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