Winky in another scandal?

[munroman]

It has not been well reported in the West of Scotland media, which will not surprise many, and the BBC have been noticeable by their absence, but Glasgow has been rocked by the resignation of the leader of Glasgow City Council, Stephen Purcell, amidst rumours of misuse of drugs, the sudden death of an 18 year old 'close friend' on the steps of the City Chambers, the involvement of a hugely high powered legal and PR team, and suspected criminal links and corruption.

Winky 'knows nothing', despite it being widely believed that he was told of Mr Purcell's issues prior to the Glasgow East by election over 2 years ago, leading Purcell to be pulled as a candidate.

Purcell left office the day after sharing the top table with Winky at a glittering Labour Party function, leading many to speculate that 'something' happened at or after that event which led to Purcells reported 'breakdown'.

Purcell has allegedly left the country and his current whereabouts are unknown, but he has left many unanswered questions, and after having control of a £2.4 billion pa budget, an Independent Audit of Glasgow City Council has been called for.

More here: http://www.torybear.com/2010/03/what-did-gordon-kn...

[andy400]

He's almost certainly involved in much dodgy and immoral behaviour.

He'll almost certainly get away with it scot free.

[mondeoman]

andy400 said:

He's almost certainly involved in much dodgy and immoral behaviour.

He'll almost certainly get away with it as a free scot

EFA

[Mojocvh]

Do you think that they are trying to sit on this until recess, sorry dissolution of parliament?

Edited by Mojocvh on Tuesday 23 March 21:58

[munroman]

Mojocvh said:

Do you think that they are trying to sit on this until recess, sorry dissolution of parliament?

Edited by Mojocvh on Tuesday 23 March 21:58

There are 2 schools of thought at the moment.

a) Story buried and General Election then 'trumps' it. (Purcell suffers 'overdose' and scandal dies with him)

or

b) Massive round up of Glasgow gangsters, (if you saw the thing about the Q7 being confiscated and used as a Police car , there have already been 2 arson attacks at the Police station its garaged at!), then NuLaba can be shown to be tough on the criminals so Winky looks good.

[Zod]

TVR Moneypit said:

I'll be keeping an eye on this to see what happens. Chances are that it will benothing though

it will be ignored by the bbc.

[Parrot of Doom]

Zod said:

TVR Moneypit said:

I'll be keeping an eye on this to see what happens. Chances are that it will benothing though

it will be ignored by the bbc.

O RLY

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_we...

[munroman]

Some more background, including direct links to Purcell's lawyer to fears of a paedophile ring cover up in Aberdeen.

http://www.thedrum.co.uk/news/2010/03/23/13180-her...

http://www.thedrum.co.uk/news/2010/03/24/13204-dru...

[lord summerisle]

Guido blogged about it a couple of weeks ago: http://order-order.com/2010/03/07/gordons-scottish...

[s2art]

There have been rumours of sordid goings on in Glasgow elite circles for a long time. Something seems to be inhibiting the journalists on this one.

[Zod]

Parrot of Doom said:

Zod said:

TVR Moneypit said:

I'll be keeping an eye on this to see what happens. Chances are that it will benothing though

it will be ignored by the bbc.

O RLY

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_we...

Is it on th front page? Is it even on the BBC Scotland front page?

Of course not, so drop the angry face.

[Parrot of Doom]

Zod said:

Parrot of Doom said:

Zod said:

TVR Moneypit said:

I'll be keeping an eye on this to see what happens. Chances are that it will benothing though

it will be ignored by the bbc.

O RLY

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_we...

Is it on th front page? Is it even on the BBC Scotland front page?

Of course not, so drop the angry face.

Actually I think you'll find the angry face is an unfortunate result of the forum's software, which when quoting a message copies the smiley across. Guess whose smiley it copied?

I find your contention that a publisher is "ignoring" a subject because it isn't on the front page, hysterical.

[Zod]

I find your hysteria ridiculous.

An analogous story about the Conservative Party would remain on the bbc's front page for days on end.

[The Hypno-Toad]

s2art said:

There have been rumours of sordid goings on in Glasgow elite circles for a long time. Something seems to be inhibiting the journalists on this one.

[dons tinfoil hat]Thomas Hamilton - Dunblane - letters sent to very important people - documents sealed for a loonng time (just like Dr Kellys ) [removes tinfoil hat, changes IP address, listens for the choppers.]

[Parrot of Doom]

Zod said:

I find your hysteria ridiculous.

An analogous story about the Conservative Party would remain on the bbc's front page for days on end.

No, it wouldn't.

[munroman]

From today's Glasgow Herald:

"Calls for Purcell deals probe rejected


Mr Purcell resigned as leader of the council on March 2
Gerry Braiden

Published on 25 Mar 2010
Scotland’s public spending watchdog and the police have rejected calls for a probe into deals by firms owned by Glasgow City Council following the resignation of disgraced former leader Steven Purcell.

Audit Scotland said there was an “absence of any evidence” to launch an investigation following calls by Glasgow East SNP MP John Mason for a probe into allegations that individuals and organisations improperly benefited from contracts awarded by council construction firm City Building.

The Herald understands Strathclyde Police has also rejected Mr Mason’s call for a formal inquiry, although this has yet to be confirmed.

The rejection of calls for an investigation appears to have ruled out any action on allegations of impropriety that have surfaced since Mr Purcell quit amid claims of cocaine and alcohol addiction.

Mr Purcell resigned as leader of the council on March 2, citing stress and exhaustion. He stepped down as a councillor days later.

Since his dramatic exit, there have been numerous allegations about the awarding of contracts by council-owned companies and links between City Building and the Labour Party.

Yesterday, Audit Scotland said it was satisfied with the work recently completed on the city council by external auditors. This included an examination of its arm’s-length bodies (Aleos), which include City Building.

Its controller of audit and deputy auditor general, Caroline Gardner, said: “Glasgow City Council is responsible for managing its affairs and it is best placed to make decisions about the action required in the current situation. Our auditors are monitoring the council’s response and will consider whether any additional work is required.

“At this stage, however, in the absence of any evidence of poor governance or financial irregularity on specific decisions or transactions, we do not consider that additional audit work is currently necessary.”

Last night Mr Mason said he was disappointed with the Audit Scotland decision but stood by his belief City Building should be investigated. He said: “Many constituents have approached me with their concerns about allegations being made about what was going on during Steven Purcell’s leadership.

“I’m of the view that if there’s nothing to hide within City Building then an external examination would clear that up and put the matter to rest.”

Meanwhile, Mr Mason has been accused of threatening the livelihoods of the 2,000 staff at City Building with his calls for a probe. Union leaders claim the MP has caused “considerable distress” to workers.

A letter signed by five senior trade union representatives contains a veiled threat to the MP’s chances of retaining the seat he won by 365 votes in 2008.

It states: “It is our belief you have acted against the best interests of your constituents and their families and this is wholly unacceptable to us as trade union representatives.”

The Herald also understands staff and the unions are furious over further allegations made by the city council’s sole Tory, David Meikle, who on Wednesday circulated correspondence referring to “disturbing claims about the involvement of gangsters in Glasgow’s politics during Mr Purcell’s time as leader”.

Strathclyde Police and Glasgow City Council declined to comment."

Phew, obviously fears of a cover up were completely unfounded, and the Trade Union officials would never lie, move along, nothing to see here then!


Edited for quotes

Edited by munroman on Friday 26th March 14:48

[Zod]

Parrot of Doom said:

Zod said:

I find your hysteria ridiculous.

An analogous story about the Conservative Party would remain on the bbc's front page for days on end.

No, it wouldn't.

Yes, it would.

This could go on for a long time.

[a_bread]

Zod said:

An analogous story about the Conservative Party would remain on the bbc's front page for days on end.

I agree, I've been more and more stunned by the BBC's party bias the last couple of years. I'm sure it's been worth a few points on Labour's vote. It works because to many people the BBC is / was always regarded as sacred, such a long standing, trusted British institution that the suggestion that it's partisan would be as bad as suggesting that David Attenborough does inappropriate things with young boys or that the Queen's a closet communist. (Both of which I don't believe btw but I keep an open mind.)