By Kirsty Topping
A COUNCIL leader punched another man in the face during a social club brawl, it has been claimed.
Derek Milligan, who heads Midlothian Council, is alleged to have hit Allan Scott, 40, during an argument which left Mr Scott needing hospital treatment for a head wound.
But Mr Milligan denied the claims, saying Mr Scott had been drunk and had hit his head after falling over at the Bonnyrigg Rose social club.
Mr Scott’s father claimed his son had been innocently playing pool with a friend when an argument broke out which resulted in Mr Scott being
“punched in the face.”
But Cllr Milligan said Mr Scott was a
“drunken idiot’ who had hurt himself following an
“all day drinking session.”
He said:
“I know politicians get the blame for everything but he was just a drunken idiot. “
He added that Mr Scott – who he said was an SNP activist – had previously been banned from the club for abusing him.
He said: “At the end of the night on Sunday, he was standing at the entrance to the door when I went to the toilet and he was being insulting. I told him to go away but he wouldn’t stop.
“Then his pal came out of the toilet and went out and he leant and pushed the door closed then stumbled through it and clattered into it, then stood up and said ‘you’re finished’. Then he took a header and hit the floor.
“He fell because he was drunk. He was absolutely intoxicated.
“I know politicians get the blame for everything but he was just a drunken idiot. There was no assault whatsoever.
However the father of his alleged victim, who does not want to be named, disputes this version of events, saying his son was injured after crashing to the ground following the punch.
He said: “It was a blow to the head that knocked him down and he smashed his head. He doesn’t remember anything about it; all he can remember was that it was Derek Milligan.”
He added: “I knew that Cllr Milligan is well associated with the Roses social club, has a lot of friends around him, and would come out with a fabrication.
“If my son had collapsed, I would like to know why neither Cllr Milligan nor the club did anything to help him – he had to go across Bonnyrigg to a public phone box and call the police, and it was the officers who noticed he was seriously injured and took him to the hospital for treatment.
So if he’s innocent of this, why didn’t Cllr Milligan help? “
A police spokesman said: “Lothian and Borders police can confirm that they have received a report of assault which occurred during the early hours of Monday, July 25 outside the premises of Bonnyrigg Rose Football Club. Inquiries are continuing.”
