Aberdeen City Council has concluded that a software bug – not malicious activity – was behind the blunder that wrongly identified SNP councillor Alexander McLellan as a Reform UK defector.
The Tillydrone, Seaton and Old Aberdeen councillor was left “dismayed” after the council’s website suggested he had joined Nigel Farage’s party. He faced online abuse and was forced to publicly deny the claims.
An internal probe, supported by the council’s external IT vendor, has confirmed that the mistake occurred when routine surgery details were being updated on August 15.
According to a report going before councillors tomorrow (Thursday), a glitch in the system’s “switch records” function allowed information to bleed across into another councillor’s profile.
Investigators ruled out any hacking or unauthorised access, stating there was “no evidence of deliberate or malicious action.” The council has apologised directly to Mr McLellan and corrected the listing within hours of the error being spotted.
To prevent a repeat, new safeguards are being introduced. Staff will now be required to double-check member records after updates, and procedures will ensure only one councillor profile is open at a time. The software itself is also being upgraded by the end of the year.
Officials have stressed that no legal or financial consequences arose from the incident. The only confirmed political defection in Aberdeen remains Duncan Massey, who left the Conservatives to join Reform UK earlier this year.