A TORY councillor who accused opponents of crying “crocodile tears” over benefit cuts and delays owes thousands of pounds in council tax.
Sebastian Arbuthnot-Leslie, who owns a castle, owes more than £2500 to Aberdeenshire Council, according to figures obtained following a freedom of information request.
Leslie, whose daughter Rose plays Ygritte in Game of Thrones, was elected to the local authority in May, and the arrears information provided by the council relates only to his period in office.
His comments last week about the roll-out of Universal Credit sparked outrage.
After hearing the switch would cause hardship to Scots in the run-up to Christmas, Leslie said: “I’ll make this short and sweet. As a man who has stood for the European Parliament twice, stood for Westminster and understands national politics, I feel it a great honour to represent Aberdeenshire as a councillor. Can we stick to council matters in this chamber? And can we keep petty, national politics to MSP and MP elections?”
He added: “It’s not good enough for my colleagues across the chamber … to cry crocodile tears when they’ve had a government since 2007 in Scotland that’s taken money from our budget.”
The local authority said Leslie was one of two councillors in arrears.
In its response to the freedom of information request it added: “The sum owed by Cllr Sebastian Leslie for the current tax year is £2535.59. Cllr Leslie was elected in May 2017, therefore we shall only be providing you with the information for this tax year to accord with his period in office to date.”
The family’s ancestral home, Lickleyhead Castle, was put on the market for offers over £1.35 million in February last year but Leslie and his wife Candida are believed to have subsequently moved back in.
The seven-bedroom property in Insch is listed for £600 a night on Airbnb, where it is described as “a great venue for family gatherings, reunions and birthday celebrations”.
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