Tackling Edinburgh Council's poisonous culture remains a pressing priority. There must be no cover-up – John McLellan

One of the biggest losses in last week’s council election was that of Southside councillor Cameron Rose but, judging by some snide comments over the years, some in the City Chambers will be glad to see the back of him.
Conservative councillor Cameron Rose was not re-elected at last week's council elections (Picture: Ian Georgeson)Conservative councillor Cameron Rose was not re-elected at last week's council elections (Picture: Ian Georgeson)
Conservative councillor Cameron Rose was not re-elected at last week's council elections (Picture: Ian Georgeson)

Not only did he challenge the extremes of climate change orthodoxy but, with ex-SNP councillor Alison Dickie, he has been a source of constant support for the swelling group of whistleblowers who have been victims of a poisonous culture within Edinburgh Council, particularly the Education, Children and Families department.

Now they are both gone, those victims no longer have an obvious champion amongst elected members and there is a real danger that the recommendations from three damning reports become lost in the bureaucratic mists until the next scandal explodes.

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The whistleblowers are still looking for justice and their call for a public inquiry will not die down just because their most prominent supporters are no longer in office.

Cover-up has been a common theme going back decades, and it recently emerged that a report published last autumn which showed the high number of disciplinary cases going through the ECF department had been removed from the publicly available record without explanation.

The election result does not remove the need for a complete overhaul of the management culture, even if the new set of councillors don’t realise it.

Along with their induction packs, the Tanner and the Edinburgh Secure Services reports should be compulsory reading. Then they can judge for themselves if the job is done.

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