IN the hit show Games of Thrones, the Lannisters are known for always paying their debts.
So too, it seems, is the Tory councillor and father of the show’s Rose Leslie, who has finally paid off his council tax bill.
Sebastian Leslie was suspended by his party last September after he claimed to have stopped paying tax for his castle in protest “against corruption in the Scottish justice system”.
The clan chief, who represents the West Garioch ward, was suspended until June this year.
READ MORE: Revealed: 16 Scots councillors began year behind on council tax
The councillor said he was unable to go into further detail about the reasons behind his protest against the “degradation of the Scottish justice system”, which he said had been part of a decade-long campaign.
It was understood he owed the council £2535.59.
But when The National submitted a Freedom of Information request to Aberdeenshire Council asking for details of any councillor in arrears at the start of year, we were told that it was just the SNP’s Karen Adam, Victoria Harper and independent John Cox who owed money.
Like Leslie, councillors Adam and Cox have also now settled their bill.
Last October the 16th-century Lickleyhead Castle, which had been his family home, was repossessed, forcing the Leslies to decamp to their second castle.
According to court documents, the lender — Together Commercial Finance Limited — asked the court to find Leslie in default for failing to comply with a legal document requiring repayment of the outstanding loan.
In 2017 Leslie infuriated opponents when he accused them of crying “crocodile tears” over Tory welfare cuts.
After hearing the switch to universal credit would cause hardship to Scots in the run-up to Christmas, Leslie said: “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.”
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