A Glasgow Labour councillor has again been questioned by Strathclyde police officers who are currently carrying out an investigation into Labour controlled Glasgow Council….
A Glasgow Labour councillor has again been questioned by Strathclyde police officers who are currently carrying out an investigation into Labour controlled Glasgow Council.
Councillor Ruth Black had already been questioned over allegations that she was involved in the supply of drugs to disgraced former council leader Steven Purcell’s inner circle.
This latest questioning involves the awarding of a £50,000 contract to run a gay and lesbian drop in centre. It brings the total of police interviews involving the Labour councillor to three.
The investigation is thought to be based on allegations that Ms Black declared to others that Steven Purcell supported the winning bid for the contract fully five months before it was awarded.
The Herald newspaper is also reporting that documentation they have seen supports this claim and that the Labour councillor also boasted that other senior Labour figures were also backing her proposal. She is said to have told her rival bidders for the contract ‘Glasgay’ that they would lose.
The Herald reports that minutes of a meeting between Ms Black and Professor Maggie Kinloch who is the chair of Glasgay reveal that Ms Black mentioned the names of several leading figures, including Mr Purcell, and stated that they were supporting her own organisations bid.
Black had managed an older incarnation of the centre but had resigned from her position before the centre collapsed leaving debts of £300,000.
The revelations will add to the growing concerns over what has been going on within Scotland’s largest local authority. Recent calls for an independent inquiry into Glasgow council were blocked by LibDem and Labour councillors; this led to accusations of a cover-up.
The new revelations will not help a beleaguered Labour campaign that has failed to ignite in Scotland.
They will also draw attention to the continued silence from Gordon Brown over claims that Purcell was discussed in a 2008 Downing Street conference call – a silence that the Scottish media seem reluctant to pursue.