AN investigation has been launched into a claim that a senior councillor should have declared an interest before presiding at a crunch meeting over the future of the Great Tapestry of Scotland.

Lib Dem Alec Nicol (Kelso & District) has confirmed to the Border Telegraph that his wife Pat was one of many volunteer stitchers who created the giant artwork, charting Scotland’s history and comprising 160 hand-embroidered panels.

He also admitted he had “considered” this before chairing last Thursday’s meeting of Scottish Borders Council’s petitions and delegations committee.

“I did not consider her involvement constituted clear and substantial evidence that I had a conflict of interest to warrant my standing down as chairman,” said Councillor Nicol this week.

In the event, his committee agreed to take no action over a 4,440-signature petition calling on SBC to reverse its decision to spend £3.5m – repayable at £208,000 a year over 30 years – on creating a permanent home for the tapestry at Tweedbank,

The petition had been raised by Innerleithen community councillor Brian McCrow who later lodged an official complaint about the committee’s proceedings – and Mr Nicol’s failure to declare an interest – in a weekend email to SBC chief executive Tracey Logan.

Mr McCrow also told her he had felt “on trial” during the meeting and that Mr Nicol had failed to control “aggressive and out of context questioning”.

A spokesperson for SBC told us: “The council’s chief executive [Ms Logan] has received and will investigate the complaint and will respond to Mr McCrow in due course. It would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage.”

During the meeting, SBC’s corporate transformation and service director Rob Dickson told Mr McCrow he did not know if the volunteers stitchers, who had given their time to create a free-to-view tapestry, would be consulted over plans to levy a £10 adult admission charge at Tweedbank.

Mrs Nicol was one of 15 members of the Kelso branch of the Embroiders Guild who stitched one of the tapestry’s panels – a depiction of Berwickshire-born scholar and theologian Duns Scotus (c1266-1308).