A SENIOR Labour councillor was slammed by rivals for shouting out a Nazi chant at a public meeting.

Gerry Convery admitted yelling "sieg heil" due to "frustration" with an SNP council boss in a row over school clothing grants for low income families.

1 Labour councillor Gerry Convery admitted the outburst

The Nats branded the outburst at a South Lanarkshire Council meeting "completely inappropriate" and urged Labour to consider "appropriate disciplinary action".

But Mr Convery claimed the SNP were "trying to make a mountain out of a molehill" and said: "It just came out."

The East Kilbride Central South councillor blurted out the infamous Nazi chant - meaning "Hail Victory!" - at a meeting of the council's ruling executive committee.

He said politicians were discussing what do do with a £83,000 underspend for 2017-18 when a fellow Labour councillor, Fiona Dryburgh, suggesting using it to top up clothing grants.

But he said SNP council leader John Ross had rejected the idea and wanted to keep the money back.

The Nats said Mr Convery then shouted "Sieg Heil" at Mr Ross.

Asked about the incident, Mr Convery said: "I don't know where you're getting the information that I shouted it at the chair.

"I just said the two words, but I never shouted it at anybody.

"But If they want to interpret it as I shouted it at the chair, that's their problem - not mine."

Asked why he said the words, he said: "Through frustration.

"We as councillors are there to provide services to people.

"And my colleague was only trying to get surplus money given to poorer, hard-working families as clothing grants.

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"And the chair basically attacked her from the chair, and sitting next to her I shouted "sieg heil'.

"And I immediately retracted it, of course. It's no way to conduct yourself, obviously. But it's the frustration with the SNP."

Asked if he was suggesting the SNP were behaving like Nazis, he said: "No, I never mentioned the word. I never said any word like that.

"It was just two words I said. People say things in the height of frustration. There was no content, no thought behind it. It just came out."

Mr Convery said families entitled to grants would be able to get an extra £6 each if the £83,000 was split.

He said: "Fiona was quite rightly asking if the money's there, give it to people who get money for clothing grants.

"The more money they get, the more cash to help their kids.

"It's all about the kids, it's all about providing services to people. From a Labour perspective the more we can help people the better.

"I think people are trying to make a mountain out of a molehill. It was two daft words that were said. I immediately retracted it.

"It was a stupid thing to say - to me it was the end of it."

Mr Convery also insisted he'd apologised when he retracted the comment, but said it may not have been audible to the committee.

But SNP councillor Katy Loudon said: "There's absolutely no place for offensive language such as this in public life in Scotland.

"Chanting a well known Nazi slogan at a colleague during council proceedings is completely inappropriate.

"It falls well below the standards people expect of elected councillors, and is certainly not something which can be lightly shrug off as humour.

"Councillor Convery should apologise, and Labour should consider appropriate disciplinary action against him."

Veteran Mr Convery is a former Labour group leader on the council and held a number of senior positions at the authority until his party lost control to a minority SNP administration in 2017.