A councillor who attended just two meetings in the last year was in the middle of a two day pub crawl when he should have been logged on to an important gathering of the council.

Russell Robertson, one of two Independent Group councillors, fulfilled the bare minimum of attending one meeting in six months before he would have lost his position.

Pictures posted on facebook show he was on an all-day drinking session in Edinburgh with his partner when councillors met virtually on September 10 last year to discuss among other issues, the recently imposed local lockdown for Glasgow, the impact of the pandemic on the nighttime economy and the mental health impact of the pandemic on people in Glasgow.

Glasgow Times:

While 79 of 85 councillors attended, Mr Robertson and his partner were posting updates on social media, smiling with drinks, from pubs in Edinburgh.

Pictures, seen by the Glasgow Times, show he posted on September 9, the day before the Full Council meeting: “A wee chit terry bite before our two days holigays in Edinburgh. My last year’s Christmas present from Bubba.”

Several posts from pubs in the capital followed, including Deacon Brodies, the Jinglin’ Geordie and The Balmoral.

On September 10, the day of the Full Council, he and his partner posted updates from TGI Fridays, Thistle Street Bar and Boozy Cow in Edinburgh.

Glasgow Times:

He boasted of a heavy drinking session, posting “Never again. I think someone spiked one of my 13 pints, or 9 gins and 3 sambucas. New me,”

The following day, September 11 he posted a picture in CC Blooms, holding two pints of lager, stating “Wan fir the road”.

At the time, pubs were open but with restrictions, and the Covid -19 advice was not to go on pub crawls.

Nicola Sturgeon said on September 8, the day before the councillor and his partner set off for Edinburgh: “When you do go out, it’s far better to stay in one pub than to visit several.

"If you spend time in three or four different bars, you’re significantly increasing the number of people who could transmit Covid to you.”

Mr Robertson’s attendance record shows he was present at a full council meeting in the City Chambers in January last year and he logged into a video link meeting of the full council in July.

He missed the four other meetings of the council, in February, September, October and December.

Glasgow Times:

Mr Robertson who was previously a Labour councillor and an SNP councillor, did not attend any of the East Area Partnership Committee meetings in 2020, the only committee he is required to attend.

Last week, the Glasgow Times revealed how Tony Curtis, former Tory councillor ,was ‘sacked’ for failing to attend at least one meeting in six months.

Mr Robertson only just met the requirement for the last two six-month periods, attending once in January last year and once in July.

Mr Robertson left the SNP in April 2019 citing concerns about the leadership of Susan Aitken. He had previously left Labour in 2016 to join the SNP.

As a councillor he picks up a salary of £17,854.

The Glasgow Times contacted Mr Robertson for comment but he did not respond to our messages.