THE councillor suspended by Scottish Labour over allegations of racism was a guest of the party at a charity Burns supper.

Davie McLachlan, who had been leader of the Labour group on South Lanarkshire Council, denies making racist remarks to leadership candidate Anas Sarwar.

He has been suspended by Labour pending an investigation into allegations of racism and Islamophobia.

However, he attended a Burns supper last month, at which Labour had sponsored a table.

McLachlan was pictured sitting with other Labour members at the event in Blantyre, despite being suspended.

When contacted by the Sunday Herald, McLachlan accepted he was at the event.

"Do you have to be a member of the Labour Party to attend a Burns supper?," he said.

However, he refused to say whether he felt that this flouted his suspension. "I don't want to say any more." he said.

Scottish Labour refused to comment on McLachlan's presence at the event.

The Burns supper was held to raise funds for the Haven Centre in Blantyre, which offers support to cancer patients.

An SNP spokesman said: "Richard Leonard's suspensions clearly mean very little to his councillors – who seem to continue socialising and representing the party at local events despite the serious allegations against them."