THE clan chief father of Game of Thrones star Rose Leslie has been suspended as a councillor by the Scottish Conservative party.
Sebastian Leslie, chieftain of the Clan Leslie, is refusing to pay £2,535.59 in council tax to Aberdeenshire Council.
He says he is protesting against corruption in the Scottish justice system.
He and his family lived in the 400-year-old ancestral home Lickleyhead Castle, Aberdeenshire, when Rose was a child, but put the property on the market in 2013 for offers of over £1.35million.
Rose, 31, is an actress best known for her role as Ygritte in the hit HBO fantasy series Game of Thrones.
Sebastian Leslie, who represents the West Garioch ward, did not attend Aberdeenshire Council meetings for four months.
He was suspended by the Tories after racking up the arrears, which prompted an internal investigation to determine whether he had brought the party into disrepute.
Now it has emerged party bosses have banned the castle-dwelling clan chief until June next year, when his position will be reviewed.
As the party had already suspended Mr Leslie, father of Game of Thrones star Rose, he left the local Tories and joined the Aligned Independent group.
But last night opposition councillors called for Mr Leslie to be removed from the administration and branded the party's handling of the controversy a "farce".
Richard Thomson, the leader of the opposition Alliance group, said: "If Councillor Leslie isn't fit to be a member of the Conservatives, then he's not fit to be in the Conservative-led council administration full stop.
"Unless steps are taken to have him thrown out of the council administration, the Conservatives will stand accused of trying to deceive the public by imposing a PR-stunt sanction which is utterly meaningless for all concerned.
"On the face of it he might have been suspended by his party. However, within the council, all that has happened is a game of 'musical chairs' which has allowed Cllr Leslie to remain and participate fully in the administration group as one of their 'Alligned Independents'."
Mr Leslie previously supported the Tories' decision to proceed with disciplinary action but said he was unable to go into further detail about the reasons behind his protest.
A Tory party spokesman said: "Councillor Leslie has been suspended from the Scottish Conservative party. We will not be making any further comment."
He was first suspended in May and it is understood his case will be reviewed in June 2019.
Aberdeenshire Council leader Jim Gifford said Mr Leslie is an independent councillor and so had the choice to join the administration.
He added: "We're going forward on that basis."
Mr Leslie could not be reached for comment.
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