Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Calls for investigation into finance convener’s Marischal Square claims

Artist's impressions of how Muse Development's Marischal Square plans might look
Artist's impressions of how Muse Development's Marischal Square plans might look

An investigation could be launched into claims made by Aberdeen City Council’s finance convener on a £107million city development.

Kevin Stewart, SNP MSP for Aberdeen Central, has written to council chief executive Angela Stewart, calling for a “full investigation” into claims made by Willie Young regarding the Marischal Square project.

He is the second local politician in two days to demand action be taken following Mr Young’s claims that the council would face a £100million cancellation fee if Muse Development’s controversial plans were scrapped.

Earlier this week, it was revealed the council would not face a penalty if it shelved the development, which includes a hotel, office and retail space.

It prompted calls from Liberal Democrat group leader Ian Yuill that Mr Young should stand down if he had knowingly misled the public by making the claims earlier this month.

But finance convener Mr Young – who is standing by his comments and has since claimed the figure could be attributed to legal fees incurred if the plans were abandoned – has said the made the £100million comments before council officers notified him that the ownership of the site had been transferred to Muse.

Yesterday Mr Stewart said that Mr Young had been “caught red-handed misleading the public about the costs” and branded the Marischal Square plans “unpopular” and a “carbuncle”.

He added: “Rather than hold his hands up and admit his mistake he has sought to put the blame onto council officers.

“It is unacceptable for councillor Young to pass the buck in such a crass manner and I am asking that the chief executive stands up for the professional and personal integrity of her officers, which he has called into question.”

Last night, Mr Young said: “The people who are against the proposals for the Muse Development must really be disappointed in Kevin Stewart as he called on his own government ministers to call the development in and they refused.

“Kevin Stewart must explain to the public what conversations he has had with the minister and tell the public why his own government is refusing to back his call to call in the Muse Development.”