A HIGHLAND councillor has reportedly resigned from the council after voting in favour of a rapist taxi driver keeping his operating licence following public outcry over the decision.
Independence councillor Willie Mackay, a former police officer, has quit Highland Council with immediate effect, the Press and Journal reports.
It comes after a number of other councillors resigned from the committee in charge of the decision following a backlash.
Six male councillors on the committee agreed to allow David Brown, of Croy, near Inverness, to keep his licence. The four female councillors voted against.
Brown was convicted earlier this year of raping an 18-year-old woman in a lay-by near a farm in the Highlands in December 2023.
According to the P&J, Mackay had already resigned from Highland Council's Licensing Committee after voting not to suspend the taxi operator's licence linked to Brown.
But he has now confirmed to his colleagues that he is also resigning as a councillor.
Mackay is understood to be the first councillor to quit the council following backlash over the decision, and the fourth to resign from the Licencing Committee.
Mackay represented the Wick and East Caithness ward on Highland Council.
He has served on the council for a number of years, making him a well-known figure in Caithness.
Mackay has campaigned on issues such as healthcare, roads, housing and economic development.
The P&J reports at least three councillors have confirmed his resignation, although Mackay has not yet commented himself.
SNP MSP for the Highlands & Islands Maree Todd previously called for all the male councillors who voted for Brown to keep his taxi operator's licence to resign.
In a statement on Friday, she said: "I share the public outrage about this decision.
"As licensing is a matter devolved to the Highland Council, I am unable, in my capacity as an MSP, to intervene in its decision-making process.
"However, I believe that the decision reached by these six male councillors is inexplicable, indefensible, and should be overturned.
"I have publicly called for the decision to be reversed and for the male councillors involved in this decision to resign from the licensing committee."
