A Perthshire councillor who is facing mounting pressure to resign over “offensive” remarks he made about ospreys has issued a public apology.
Tom Gray sparked anger at a Perth and Kinross Council meeting to determine the fate of T in the Park.
Referring to controversy about protected birds of prey at the festival’s new Strathallan Castle home, Mr Gray said: “I don’t know a single osprey to have topped itself because it had to move its nest.”
The SNP representative for Strathallan who is also convener of the development management committee said ospreys at the Perthshire estate had become “more powerful” than the voice of 85,000 young music fans expected to attend this summer.
Backing a motion to approve planning permission, Mr Gray said that there are more ospreys around today than there were 25 years ago, when they were “chased away” by fishermen.
His comments moved Stirling protester Brett Skerry to start a petition urging Mr Gray to resign and publicly apologise. The petition has attracted hundreds of signatures in a matter of days.
The Strathallan T Action Group also reported Mr Gray to the Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland.
Councillor Alexander Stewart, deputy leader of the local Conservative group, said he will call on council leader Ian Miller to “ensure that Councillor Gray resigns immediately”.
Mr Stewart said that if Mr Miller refuses, he will table a vote of no confidence against Mr Gray at the next meeting of the full council on July 1.
Mr Gray told The Courier he crossed a line but has no plans to resign.
He said: “Regarding comments made by myself having seconded the motion to approve the TiTP paper, I acknowledge the offensive nature of the remark made with reference to any unfortunate bird which has abandoned its nest, deeply regret that I had made such remark and apologise for doing so.
“Other than to express concern that some would prefer to ignore the context in which the comments were made, at this time, I have no further comment to make in the matter.”
Mr Stewart said that he and other members of the local Conservative group were “deeply disappointed that Councillor Gray does not think it appropriate that he should resign”.
“The comments Councillor Gray made in seconding the motion to grant the application for T in the Park were deemed to have been so inappropriate that his colleague, Councillor John Kellas, the proposer of the motion, publicly asked to be disassociated from them,” he said.
“The remarks made by the convener have given offence to many people, including those who made representations to the committee. We cannot accept that any elected member, and most importantly a convener, can show discourtesy to those making a valid argument.”
At the meeting, councillors unanimously agreed to grant planning permission for T in the Park’s relocation to the 1,600-acre Strathallan estate.