The Fall Of The House Of Purcell. Do not Go OFF TOPIC

[Boxer6]

Shame he's not around to see how smoothly things are going at the council's arm's length babies:

Staff at the largest of Glasgow City Council’s hived-off companies have been told their hours and salaries must be drastically cut – or there will be as many as 800 redundancies.

The company, headed by £132,500-a-year entrepreneur Fergus Chambers

Och, I'm sure Mr Chambers will gladly give up exactly the same percentage and cut in terms and conditions as his employees, won't he...?

Ah, the Evening Times - finger on the pulse of the corpse that is GCC once again. I knew about this over 2 weeks ago - what took them so long?

[Fat Cat]

Shame he's not around to see how smoothly things are going at the council's arm's length babies:

Staff at the largest of Glasgow City Council’s hived-off companies have been told their hours and salaries must be drastically cut – or there will be as many as 800 redundancies.

The company, headed by £132,500-a-year entrepreneur Fergus Chambers

Och, I'm sure Mr Chambers will gladly give up exactly the same percentage and cut in terms and conditions as his employees, won't he...?

Ah, the Evening Times - finger on the pulse of the corpse that is GCC once again. I knew about this over 2 weeks ago - what took them so long?

The Evening Times - Purcell's very own publicity rag. The Editor must be having withdrawal symptoms. They usually printed at least one picture a day of the big boy standing in front of the city chambers, arms folded.

These bar stewards of councillors are bleeding the city dry. Shameful.

[dimairt]

The company, headed by £132,500-a-year entrepreneur Fergus Chambers

Ah, the Evening Times - finger on the pulse of the corpse that is GCC once again. I knew about this over 2 weeks ago - what took them so long?[/quote]

Does anyone know what the the salary was for the former head of this service while it was still a Council department?
As to the Evening Times.....at the end of a prolonged strike some 18 years ago, I wrote the to the ET editor to complain about its stance, suggesting that it was motivated by the income it received from Council advertising and fillers for its news pages. He replied that my comments were libelous. My response - and I'd always wanted to say this - was publish and be damned! He didn't.

Le durachd,

Eddy

[Mori]

Herald

Police confirm Purcell criminal probe

15 Apr 2010

A criminal investigation has been launched over “allegations of drug taking” and “other matters” concerning the former leader of Scotland`s largest local authority, police said today.

Steven Purcell stood down as leader of Glasgow City Council and quit as a councillor last month.

At the time, he said “stress and exhaustion” were behind his decision to tender his resignation as council leader and councillor for the city’s Blairdardie ward.

It later emerged he was treated at a private hospital specialising in drug and alcohol dependency.

Last month, Mr Purcell, 37, who had been a rising star within the Labour Party, told the Scottish Sun he had taken cocaine a “handful” of times since he was first offered it at a party.

A Strathclyde Police spokeswoman said today: “Strathclyde Police can confirm that following assessment of information surrounding allegations of drug-taking and other matters concerning Steven Purcell that a criminal investigation is now under way.

“As a result it would be inappropriate to make any further comment about the investigation as this would be detrimental to any process.”

A Crown Office spokesman said: “The Area Procurator Fiscal in Glasgow has been kept fully informed by Strathclyde Police of their assessment of information and confirms that there is now an ongoing criminal investigation, the outcome of which will be reported to her in due course.

“It would be inappropriate to make any further comment at this stage.”

A spokesman for Glasgow-based solicitors Levy & McRae, who represent Mr Purcell, said: “We have not been approached by either Strathclyde Police of the Crown Office.”

Mr Purcell was elected to the post of council leader in 2005 when he was 32.

He was first elected to the council in May 1995 and served as convener of development and regeneration, then education before becoming leader.

He was named as Councillor of the Year at last year’s Scottish Politician of the Year awards. He was given the honour for his role in delivering the Commonwealth Games to the city and a guaranteed “living wage” to thousands of Glasgow workers.