Glasgow's Lord Provost is to step down after coming under fire for an £8,000 spending spree billed to the taxpayer.
Eva Bolander's expenses included £1,150 for 23 pairs of shoes, a £200 hat and £751 for haircuts, sparking an angry backlash and calls for her to resign.
The taxpayer was also charged £389 for two sets of fabric – expensive Harris Tweed – and about £992 for 14 dresses and £435 for seven blazers. Four skirts cost the public purse about £143, a blouse came in at £55 and unidentifiable items cost £824.
The SNP councillor previously apologised for the purchases and suggested paying some of the money back.
In a letter to her Glasgow City Council colleagues, she wrote: "Although the spending incurred was within the rules, on reflection, there are items which I should not have chosen to reclaim.
"I am sorry about that and I am in discussion with financial services to come to an arrangement to repay the relevant expenditure."
The issue was raised at First Minister's Questions in Holyrood when Conservative MSP Adam Tomkins argued Ms Bolander had "ripped off the people of Glasgow".
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said her SNP colleague Ms Bolander was an "excellent Lord Provost" but was "absolutely right" to reflect on her expenses claims and had made the "right decision" that some should not have been made.
Labour councillor Martin McElroy, who helped expose the row, said: “I’m glad that she has finally stood down. Her actions had made the important office of Lord Provost a running joke in the city. We need to select someone who can help rebuild its credibility.”
Glasgow Conservative MSP Annie Wells said: "This has been embarrassing for the SNP from start to finish.
"The Provost should never have charged the public for designer clothes, and she should have gone when this news first broke.
"Nicola Sturgeon and Glasgow City Council leader Susan Aitken look foolish for defending the Provost to the hilt when everyone in Glasgow could see her expenses claims were a joke.
"Hopefully the next Provost will be fit to serve the people of Glasgow."
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