An SNP council leader resigned after being charged with embezzlement, it has emerged.
Grant Laing’s decision to step down as leader of Perth and Kinross Council, as well as quit the SNP, was announced on Monday by the local authority.
Initially, the council said the resignation was for “personal reasons”, with new acting leader Eric Drysdale saying the move had come as a “shock”.
However, Police Scotland later said that the 63-year-old had been charged in connection with embezzlement.
The allegations relate to a period from 2017 to 2025. Laing had led Perth and Kinross Council since the 2022 local elections, and represented the Strathtay ward since 2012.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “A 63-year-old man has been charged with embezzlement which occurred over a period of years between 2017 and 2025 in the Perth area.
“A report will be sent to the Procurator Fiscal.”
Laing has not resigned his seat on Perth and Kinross Council, instead now sitting as an independent.
The Courier reported that the SNP had only been made aware of Laing's decision to leave on Monday, hours before it was made public. It is unclear when the party learned of the embezzlement charge.
A source told STV: “This has come as a huge shock to the party. As there are live criminal proceedings, we can’t comment any further at this time.”
Earlier on Monday, Perth and Kinross Council announced Laing had tendered his resignation as council leader “for personal reasons”.
A spokesperson went on: “He will continue to sit as an independent councillor.
"A new council leader and any related changes to committee appointments will take place at the next meeting of full council on October 29, 2025.
“In the meantime, Councillor Eric Drysdale is acting leader of the council.”
Drysdale said: "Grant's decision has come as a shock to all of his councillor colleagues, but we shall all step up our efforts to fill the gap his departure will leave.
"Grant has given his all in the role of leader of Perth and Kinross Council for the last three-and-a-half years, driven by his wholehearted commitment to our group's core principles underpinned by a vision of a Perth and Kinross where everyone can live life well, free from poverty and inequality."
The SNP remains the largest group on Perth and Kinross Council, with 16 members. The Tories are second on 12, while the LibDems have five and Scottish Labour one. The remaining seats on the 40-member local authority are held by independents.
The news of Laing's embezzlement charge comes with former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell facing similar allegations.
Murrell, the estranged husband of former first minister Nicola Sturgeon, was charged in April of last year as part of an investigation into the SNP's funding and finances.
He appeared in court in March and will return there, but no date has been set.
