The suspended chief executive of a Scottish council was last night facing a police inquiry following allegations believed to relate to expenses irregularities.
Mr Tony Connell was asked to leave his office at Moray Council's Elgin headquarters at the end of April after unspecified allegations were made against him.
The 45-year-old father-of-four was suspended while the authority carried out an internal inquiry into an administrative matter.
But Grampian Police said last night that it had been instructed to carry out an investigation of its own.
''Grampian Police can confirm that the procurator-fiscal in Elgin has instructed the force to make inquiries into matters concerning the chief executive of the Moray Council,'' said a spokeswoman.
The council said that its inquiry was still ongoing and could not say when it would be completed.
A spokeswoman said: ''The public will be aware that the Moray Council chief executive is currently suspended. The council is currently in the middle of an investigation and it would not, therefore, be appropriate to comment further on the situation.''
Mr Connell's suspension comes just months after elected members of Moray Council were accused of ''gross and systematic'' abuse of their expenses.
But the councillors were cleared following an internal investigation, an inquiry by the Audit Commission and a inquiries by Grampian Police.
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