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Living in a Whirlwind, or the Food/Energy/Work Crisis – and some criticisms
By Brian Marks 9 July 2008
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Variant's reply to inaccuracies or defamatory statements
By VariantPlease find below and attached Variant's reply to the "inaccuracies ordefamatory statements" alleged by James Doherty, Media Manager, Cultureand Sport Glasgow, to be in the article 'The New Bohemia' by RebeccaGordon Nesbitt, Variant issue 32, Summer 2008.Of the 20 points Doherty raises, we maintain that there are merely 4insignificant errors -- which we are happy to correct -- and hardlygrounds on which to deny the public the right to be informed.We can confirm that this issue of Variant has been removed from all CSGvenues. Readers might be concerned to find out what has happened tothese copies and when they will be made available to the public.Leigh Frenchco-editor, VariantText version of 'The New Bohemia' :http://www.variant.org.uk/32texts/CSG.htmlPDF version 'The New Bohemia' :http://www.variant.org.uk/pdfs/issue32/Variant32RGN.pdfPDF of CSG structure diagram :http://www.variant.org.uk/pdfs/issue32/csg_diagram.pdf--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mr. JamesDoherty 28/6/08Media Manager Culture and Sport Glasgow 20 Trongate Glasgow G1 5ESDear Mr. Doherty,Further to your letter dated 23 June, we take the opportunity to replyherewith. To take your last point first – that “the author hasreferenced newspapers as reliable and accurate sources of facts, whichis a major flaw in a so-called piece of academic writing. Out of 36note references 12 are directly taken from newspapers.” Newspapers arean invaluable resource for the academic researcher as they are forjournalists. It is of course the case that newspapers are not alwaysreliable sources. However, the same should be said of other types ofdata such as, for example, official statements from governmentalinstitutions. However, the press material used in this article was inthe context of a range of other sources and was not the sole basis forthe article. Furthermore, every care was taken to check where possiblewith additional sources and to examine (via newspaper’s databases)whether corrections had been issued or letters published from CSG orother sources querying the veracity of the accounts. If Culture andSport Glasgow has approached any of these sources for retractions,this was not obvious from the research undertaken. The question whichis important here is not the use of press sources which form alegitimate part of academic data gathering, and indeed a substantialarea of academic scholarship, but the issue of the accuracy of theclaims. As we shall see below, it has not been shown in your complaintthat any of the claims made on the basis of press sources areinaccurate. With this in mind, we will address your other comments andcite the original sources where relevant.Summary of Inaccuracies 1 In relation to Struan Stevenson, the article states that “anotherobjection” was made to the MEP “responding to the claims of awhistleblower presumed to be a high-level GCC official”. Thecorrespondence from Mr Stevenson does not lay any claim to anywhistleblower, merely the concerns of a constituent. After responsesto the Commissioner from Glasgow City Council and the ScottishExecutive, there was deemed to be no case to answer.The article does not say that Stevenson himself described the“constituent” as a whistleblower. However, this issue was reported toinvolve a whistleblower. On 3 May 2007, two reports in mainstreamnewspapers used the word ‘whistleblower’:McCann, J. ‘Glasgow museums trust faces Euro probe: Investigation overclaims charity is operating illegally.’ Evening Times.Braiden, G. ‘Council facing EC questions over creation of culturetrust: Fears over possible breach of state aid rules.’ The Herald.The second of these articles states: “The commission has now writtendirectly to the Scottish Executive regarding issues raised by StruanStevenson, following allegations made by a whistleblower the Tory MEPbelieves is a senior Glasgow City Council official.” [emphasis added]On 30 August, 2007, it was reported in the Evening Times that: “ScotsTory MEP Struan Stevenson had said a whistleblower claimed Culture andSport Glasgow tried to get round European legislation by transferringculture and leisure services without putting them to tender.”Another article, published on the same day, states: “Scots Tory MEPStruan Stevenson claimed to have been told by the unnamedwhistleblower that Glasgow had attempted to circumvent Europeanlegislation by transferring its culture and leisure facilities withoutputting the running of the service out to tender. The concern was thatGlasgow could have been directly or indirectly subsidising a company,which is contrary to European Commission rules.” See Braiden, G.‘Commissioner clears city over culture and sport trust claims.’ TheHerald. 30 August 2007.http://www.theherald.co.uk/politics/news/display.var.1651843.0.0.php(accessed 7 April 2008)In summary, there is no case to answer here as the alleged inaccuracywas not claimed in the article. 2 The article states that there were "controversial proposals toallow private companies to develop businesses in two of its parks".Culture and Sport Glasgow does not manage any parks within the city- these remain within Glasgow City Council's Land and EnvironmentalServices department.The article is critiquing a nexus of interests and is clear aboutthat. However, the use of the possessive form – its – in the abovesentence in relation to the two parks may be, strictly speaking,misapplied. But we contest that Culture and Sport Glasgow is involvedin parks development and is engaged in 'formal' partnerships to dowith parks management. Culture and Sport Glasgow manage the BurrellCollection, whose facilities are a major plank in the Go Ape businessmodel for Pollok Park, and "Logistical support in mounting Glasgow'sProms In The Park is provided by events management staff from Culture& Sport Glasgow."http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2007/06_june/19/proms.shtmlCultural and Leisure Services, at the time, contributed to the'Strategic Review of Parks and Open Spaces'. The review is clear that:"The parks service is influenced by other Council policies." p.9"The senior management team within Land Services was recentlysubjected to restructuring. This was undertaken in order to move LandServices forward as an organisation that is focused on customers andcorporate working." p.9"Formal partnerships and working together with other agencies are alsoan established part of the service delivery. [...] The playing fieldmaintenance service is provided to Cultural and Leisure Services andEducation Services." p.8"Develop a strategy in partnership with Cultural and Leisure Services,Education Services and SportScotland to deliver a comprehensive golffacility development programme." p.45On 1st of April 2007, the management of Glasgow's common good parksand sports facilities transferred to Culture and Sport Glasgowincluded:Alexandra Golf & Bowls, Barlia Sports Centre, Barrachnie Park,Bellahouston Bowls, Bellahouston Pitch & Putt, Bellahouston Sports /Leisure Centre, Blairdardie Sports Pavilion / Pitches, BlairtummockPitches, Bonnyholm Playing Fields, Broomfield Road Playing Fields,Budhill Football Pitch, Caldercuilt Playing Fields/Acre Road Pitch,Castlemilk Sports Centre, Cathkin Recreation Centre and Pitches,Cowlairs Park Recreation Ground, Cranhill Beacon Play Area, DanesDrive Bowls, Dawsholm Pitches, Drumchapel Bowls, Easterhouse SportsCentre, Garscadden Playing Fields / Pavilion (Peterson Park), GlasgowGreen Football Centre (Fleshers Haugh), Glenconnor Park, GreenfieldPark & Football Pavillion, Haghill Pitch, Halgreen Avenue PlayingField, Holyrood Sports Centre, James Lindsey Memorial Park Pitches,Kelso Street Pitch, Kelvingrove Bowling/Old Bowling, King George VPlaying Fields, King Georges Field, Knightswood Golf / Football,Knightswood Pitch & Putt / Bowls, Lethamhill Golf Course, LiddesdaleRoad Playing Fields (St Augustine's), Linn Park Adventure Playground,Linn Park Golf Course, Lister Street Bowls, Littlehill Golf, LocharPark, Maryhill Bowls, Mount Vernon Park & Football Pavilion, MuirshielCrescent Recreation Centre, Myreside Street Recreation Ground, NetherPollok Playing Fields / Pavilion, Nethercraigs Sports Complex /Playing Fields, Netherton Community Centre / Temple Bowls, NorthKelvinside Playing Fields, Penilee Secondary School Pitch, People'sPalace / Winter Gardens, Pirie Park, Queen's Park Bowls, Pitch & Putt/ Tennis, Queens Park Recreation Ground & Pavilion, SpringburnBowling, Springburn Park, Synthetic Pitch & Pavilion, Swinton FootballPitch, Tollcross Park, Tollcross Park Leisure Centre, Vaila StreetOpen Space, Victoria Park Pitches / Bowls, Wyndford Recreation Centre / Pitch, Yoker Sports Centre. 3 The article further states that "initial fears about job security- especially for casual workers - appear to be founded". CSG hasincreased its total number of employees, and many one-time casualworkers now have secure contracts - in accordance with good employmentpractice and full consultation with trade unions.The article draws on evidence of CSG staff, known to be engaging intalks with CSG and BECTU about the yearly contracts being offered tothem which offer them worse terms than their Glasgow City Councilcolleagues. However, the point of this sentence lies in the latterhalf, which has been excluded from the above quotation, aboutcontracts “that discriminate against artists who rely on flexibility in their paid work, thereby undermining the indirect subsidy that reaches the city’s creative practitioners through invigilation work.” Thepoint is that forcing artists to sign annual contracts willsignificantly reduce their ability to participate in residencies andlengthy creative projects for fear that their annual quota of workinghours would not be fulfilled. As such, artists are increasinglyunlikely to sign the contracts that are being offered to them, whichdeprives them of one of the main financial lifelines for flexiblecreative workers in the city. 4 The author claims that "somewhat predictably, it has just beenannounced that the feted Kelvingrove Museum will be introducingadmission charges". Again, this is simply untrue. Kelvingrove ArtGallery and Museum remains free of charge, like every other museummanaged by CSG on behalf of the Council. There will be a charge for the upcoming Dr Who temporary exhibition. Kelvingrove has previouslycharged for major temporary exhibitions, such as the Dead Sea Scrollsin 1997 - however, there will be no charge for access to corecollections and services.Entrance fees to national museums across the UK were officiallyscrapped on 1st December 2001. It is in this context and the widerconcerns of commercial exploitation of common good facilitiesexpressed in the article that Kelvingrove, a public museum, will forthe first time be charging admission for a temporary exhibition withinthe museum. 5 Bridget McConnell is not Executive Director of Culture and SportGlasgow. She is in fact Chief Executive of Culture and Sport Glasgow.Insignificant error, but happy to correct this. 6 Your graphic of the board members of Culture and Sport Glasgowincludes Councillor Archie Graham. Councillor Graham resigned hisposition 3 months ago and was replaced by Bailie Allan Stewart.As with other alleged inaccuracies to be picked up later, thisinformation came from the Culture and Sport Glasgow website. At thetime this research was conducted (in the first quarter of 2008) ArchieGraham was still cited as a member of the board. Indeed, a response toa Freedom of Information request, dated 15 April 2008, names Graham asa Director. 7 "Bridget McConnell was the driving force behind the creation ofCulture and Sport Glasgow." The service reform agenda was a nationalpolicy, the implementation of service reform in Glasgow City Councilwas lead by the elected members of the City Council and not officers.Mrs McConnell is not an elected member and therefore, does notparticipate in the decisions taken by Glasgow City Council.Again the article deals with a nexus of interests, both formal andinformal. More substantially than this, Council reports and minutesshow that, despite not being an elected member of the Council, BridgetMcConnell was very much steering proceedings.In August 2006, McConnell reminded the newly-formed Policy Developmentand Scrutiny Committee[1] that Glasgow’s Cultural Strategy (whichincluded an introduction by herself) “provided an integrated policyframework that gave long-term direction to the development andprovision of cultural activity within the city.”[2] The directionadvocated by McConnell – to create a Company Limited by Guarantee withcharitable status, thereby determining in advance the structure forthe new organisation that any business plan sought to establish – wasoutlined in a written report to the Executive Committee the followingmonth.[3] This was swiftly taken up by Councillor John Lynch, thenExecutive Member for Culture and Sport – who proposed, as perMcConnell’s recommendations, that service reform be extended intoculture and sport, and that a Social Enterprise be created to managethe Council’s cultural and sporting services, which would lead toclear gains in service delivery, fund-raising potential and businessdevelopment while saving the Council money. At the same meeting,Councillors Steven Purcell and Aileen Colleran instructed McConnell “to prepare a detailed business plan to establish the most efficient andeffective structure for a Social Enterprise for the delivery of theCouncil’s Cultural and Leisure Services.”Accordingly, international accounting and consultancy firm, GrantThornton,[4] was contracted to “provide information on Glasgow CityCouncil Cultural and Leisure Services for the purpose of transferringthe division to a new company.”[5] As instructed, the creation of acompany was recommended, limited by guarantee with charitable status.The rationale for these wholesale changes re-iterated McConnell’sstrategy and was centred on the benefits of charitable status, such asthe absence of tax on rental income and rates relief of up to 100%. Inaddition to savings, increased development opportunities wereidentified, via retail and venue hire and via external funding, drawing on the precedent of the Kelvingrove Refurbishment Appeal Trust.The outcomes of Grant Thornton’s work were presented at the GCCExecutive Committee on 2 February 2007, in advance of which McConnell“recommended that Members instruct the Chief Executive [herself] tocomplete all necessary arrangements to establish the Company Limitedby Guarantee with Charitable Status and put in place the appropriatemanagement arrangements to effect the transfer of staff and assets inline with the proposals included within this report by 1 April 2007 toensure that the Charitable Company is fully operational by 31 March2007.”[6] The Council approved McConnell’s recommendations.In summary, this is not a question of inaccuracy, but in fact aquestion of fair comment with which CSG happens to disagree.[1] Formation of this committee within Cultural and Leisure Serviceswas approved by the Council on 29 June 2006 according to note 2(1) ofCultural and Leisure Services Policy Development and ScrutinyCommittee Minutes, 23 August 2006.[2] Note 7(1) of Cultural and Leisure Services Policy Development andScrutiny Committee Minutes, 23 August 2006.[3] While euphemistically being called a ‘Social Enterprise,’ thecreation of a Company Limited by Guarantee with Charitable status wasexplicitly discussed throughout McConnell’s proposal ‘Extension ofPathfinder Project – Culture and Sport: Report by Bridget McConnell,’15 September 2006.[4] Member of International Financial Services London (IFSL) whichseeks to liberalise trade in public services.[5] Grant Thornton, ‘Glasgow City Council Pathfinder for Cultural andLeisure Services: Outline Business Case,’ January 2007.[6] ‘Extension of Pathfinder Project – Culture and Sport: Report byBridget McConnell,’ 2 February 2007. 8 "Promoted to Executive Director with negligible discussion". Thischange was in title only to recognise the role that the post had inleading on the development of cultural and sports policy across theCouncil. It is worth noting that the new title did not come with anyincrease in salary. In addition, the tone of title of the EducationDirector was changed to Executive Director at the same time andsubsequently all remaining Council Directors were given the samechange in title from Director to Executive Director.Nowhere in the article is it suggested that the new title came with anincreased salary or that other directors did not have their titleschanged at the same time. The point that is being made here is thatthis title change was undertaken without proper discussion. On 4September, 2005, the Mail on Sunday published Mark Aitken’s article“Arrogance’ row over £100,000 Commonwealth Games job for MrsMcConnell,’ which is worth quoting in full here:“NEW questions were raised last night over the promotion of the FirstMinister's wife to a key role in Scotland’s £250 million CommonwealthGames bid.Bridget McConnell was catapulted from her role as director of leisureservices for Glasgow City Council to the new post of ExecutiveDirector (Culture and Sport). But The Scottish Mail on Sunday can reveal she was given the jobwithout any discussion by councillors, after a meeting with theauthority’s chief executive and leader. Mrs McConnell, who is paid £107,000, will lead Glasgow’s efforts tosecure one of the biggest sporting events in the world.Her new role is likely to include visits around the globe in search ofcrucial votes from the 71 Commonwealth members, which include theBahamas, Cyprus, the Maldives, Mauritius and the Seychelles. She has already made a fact-finding visit to Melbourne in Australiaas part of the Games bid. Yet her appointment was made without the knowledge of mostcouncillors. Under council rules, the chief executive has the power to ‘approvechanges in post designations where there is no change in salarygrade.’ The letter confirming Mrs McConnell’s new job, obtained under theFreedom of Information Act, was dated August 5 but her appointment hadalready been announced on July 12. Last night, questions were being asked about how the appointment wasmade and why it was thought necessary to promote Mrs McConnell andinclude a sports brief, which has no council committee to oversee it.SNP group leader John Mason said: ‘I see this appointment-as a jobcreation which there hasn’t been a lot of openness about. Out ofcourtesy to councillors, it should have been brought to committee anda vote taken. I have a problem with reading about something in the press before Ihear about it at committee. To me, it smacks of Labour arrogance.’ MrsMcConnell’s appointment came a month before her husband announced theScottish Executive would be backing Glasgow’s bid to land thelucrative Commonwealth Games in 2014. Her sudden promotion so close to her husband’s announcement promptedcriticism and questions over how the couple could keep their politicaland private lives independent. A council spokesman said: ‘The recent redesignation of posts is partof management changes which the chief executive is entitled to makeunder delegated authority.’ ”In summary, there is no case to answer here. 9 The paragraph which refers to "Scotland's arts scene" being"wrought in (Bridget McConnell's) image" is without foundation, pulledfrom evidence from a Scotland on Sunday article. The sources quoted inthe article remain un-named. There is no evidence at all to suggestthat Mrs McConnell in any way influenced the Culture Minister'srecommendations in the Scottish Parliament in January 2006 - and thisis defamatory to both parties.As a footnote elsewhere in the article attests, Bridget McConnell wascopied into documents collected by the Cultural Commission (a visit tothe Cultural Commission archive held in Stirling revealed that themarginalia of documents included the note ‘Copies to Frank [McAveety],James [Boyle], Bridget’).It was widely reported at the time of the Cultural Commission thatBridget McConnell wished to exert some influence over the process. Thearticle Hutcheon, P. ‘Revealed: civil servants’ attack on arts council:Memo sparks fears of secret agenda.’ The Sunday Herald. 10 April,2005, p. 10 is particularly instructive in this regard. This reportson fears that the Cultural Commission was “a thinly veiled bid to axethe Scottish Arts Council (SAC)” and details an:“ongoing feud between Boyle and Bridget McConnell, the FirstMinister's wife.The initial row was sparked by Boyle’s decision last year to excludeher from his task-force because of fears that including the ScottishLabour leader’s spouse, who fronts Glasgow City Council’s culture andleisure services department, would have led to accusations ofcronyism. Local authority leaders, irritated by the snub, set up a parallelreview of arts provision that focused on the role of councils indelivering services, something they feared the commission mightneglect.Boyle was infuriated by the creation of a separate body that hethought was being used by Bridget McConnell to challenge his work, anda commission source warned her in November to ‘back off’. Relations between the pair have reportedly been cool since. In another twist, the SAC entered the row by complaining to cultureminister Patricia Ferguson last November about the approach taken bycouncils.In a letter released under the Freedom of Information Act,SAC director Graham Berry made clear his unease about the separatereview being undertaken by Bridget McConnell and her colleagues.”In summary, it is not defamatory and there is no case to answer here. 10 “Passionate about promoting Glasgow abroad, former Lord Provost,Liz Cameron, travels the world at the city’s expense”. The author goeson to claim that Bailie Cameron travelled to Sri Lanka as part of the2014 delegation. Bailie Cameron was not on the delegation – andindeed, was frequently interviewed and photographed at Glasgow’scelebration in the Old Fruitmarket.The precise wording in the article was: “This has seen her takingtrips to New York, Sri Lanka and Melbourne, the latter of which wasundertaken as part of the delegation to secure the 2014 CommonwealthGames for Glasgow.” [emphasis added].The trip to Sri Lanka refers to an earlier trip reported in The SundayTimes on 22 January 2006. This article describes how, between 2003 and2007, while Lord Provost and Lord-Lieutenant of Glasgow, Liz Cameronaccumulated “travel expenses of £60,000, 11 times the amount spent byher counterpart in Edinburgh, Lesley Hinds. [...] The lord provost’stravels included an indispensable trip to New York for its Tartan Daycelebrations, at a cost of £17,000. A visit to Sri Lanka after thetsunami racked up another £12,000, though ironically its purpose wasto see how relief money raised in Glasgow was being spent.”http://www.spinprofiles.org/index.php/Liz_Cameron%28councillor%29 -_note-4In summary, there is no case to answer here. 11 Your article claims “the devolution of culture and leisureprovision follows the creation of several other limited liabilitypartnerships”. This gives the impression Culture and Sport Glasgow isa limited liability partnership. It is not. It is a registered charity.It is clearly stated throughout the article that CSG is a limitedcompany with charitable status. 12 In relation to the claim regarding Freedom of Informationrequests and that applications “have thus far yielded nothing”, theorganisation evaluates and responds to each request in full compliancewith the Information Commissioner’s guidance, this includes access toan appeal process.Several Freedom of Information requests have been made as part of thisresearch. Significantly, two recent requests have asked for copies ofBridget McConnell’s correspondence in order to shed some light ondecision-making processes. The first of these – covering the wholeperiod since the establishment of Culture and Sport Glasgow – wasdeclined on the basis of cost, estimated at £967.80 (ref:SD/HM/0804027). The second, dated 23 April, solicited McConnell’scorrespondence undertaken on behalf of Culture and Sport Glasgow overa much-reduced timeframe i.e. between 1 September 2006 and 31 February2007, which was also declined on exceeding the £600 upper limit forproviding information. It is unclear how the later request could alsobe declined, when the cost of granting the request would be expectedto be a small fraction of £967.80 over a considerably shorter period.A review of this decision is in progress and you can rest assured thatthe Information Commissioner will be kept informed.In summary, this is neither an inaccuracy nor defamatory. Itsinclusion here suggests a need to pad out the list of allegedinaccuracies. 13 In your text, you report Councillor Aileen Colleran is a memberof the Culture and Sport Glasgow (Trading) CIC board. This is not thecase. Indeed, your own graphic on the front page of the articleappears to demonstrate this.Apologies – this must have been a cut and paste error. We will behappy to correct this minor inaccuracy. 14 Your article appears to draw some distinction between IndependentDirectors and Board members. In fact, all are members of the board.This stems from the distinction made on the CSG website betweenelected members and Independent Directors. See:http://www.csglasgow.org/aboutus/theboard/index.htm 15 Dr Vartan Gregorian is not seconded to Culture and Sport Glasgow.He is Special Advisor to the Board of Culture and Sport Glasgow as theminutes of the board meeting in November 2007 make clear.We will be happy to correct this minor inaccuracy. 16 In relation to Glasgow International, the author claims that theexhibition “effectively brands the exhibitions already taking place inthe city’s main institutions and grassroots organisations”. Again,this assertion is entirely without merit. GI has a £300k plus budgetand is a fully curated festival, with key new commissions includingthe work of [Jim] Lambie at GoMA.“Effectively” does not mean entirely or totally. We suggest youconsult those grassroots organisations that receive no extra benefitfrom participation in Glasgow International.There is no inaccuracy here. 17 "When McConnell was promoted to Executive Director of Culturaland Leisure Services, her role grew to include sport". Again, this iswholly incorrect and defamatory. As stated, the change in title waspart of a Council-wide restructuring, which did not result in anincrease in salary. Also, as the previous Director of Cultural andLeisure Services, Mrs McConnell's role had always included managementof all the Council’s sports facilities, sports development and eventsand the management of the multi-million pound capital programme forsports facilities. Mrs McConnell also led the City to being electedEuropean City of Sport in 2003.It is hard to see how this statement if untrue could be defamatory. Ifuntrue it is simply inaccurate. Again we would refer you to thearticle cited in full above which comments on the decision “to promoteMrs McConnell and include a sports brief.” Nowhere is it suggested thatthe new title came with an increased salary or that other directorsdid not have their titles changed at the same time.The article did not mention the subject of increased salaries, and yetyour response twice draws our attention to it. We will therefore beseeking to find out whether, for example, there are any pay bonusschemes associated with targets, or other mechanisms outwith theExecutive Director's quoted basic salary. 18 "Recent reports that she may have been sidelined to protect SNPsensitivities …. Contradicted by the relocation of the sportsdevelopment team of CSG to the Commonwealth site". Again, this is farfrom accurate and defamatory. Mrs McConnell is a member of theOrganising Committee for Glasgow 2014 and remains a key advisor to theAll of Scotland Group and chairs the 2014 Vibrant City Group. Thesports development team of CSG is moving to the National Indoor SportsArena - as had always been the intention - to be at the heart of aworld-class facility.We would refer you to Drury, P. ‘McConnell’s wife axed from Games bidteam.’ The Express. 25 June 2007, which states:“THE wife of deposed First Minister Jack McConnell has been axed froma key role in the team vying to bring the Commonwealth Games toGlasgow. […]Mrs McConnell was appointed chief executive of Culture and SportGlasgow, the group leading the bid for the 2014 Games.But her prominent role would inevitably put her in regular contactwith Alex Salmond, the SNP chief who replaced her husband, Jack, asFirst Minister last month. She has now been dropped from the steeringgroup which involves Mr Salmond but remains on the committeeresponsible for the day-to-day running of the bid.”In summary, again, it is not defamatory and there is no case to answerhere. 19 “More than the sum of its parts, the creation of Culture andSport Glasgow represents the wholesale takeover of culture by businessinterests.” Again, this has no basis in fact. The organisation has amajority of elected members on its Board and every building, work ofart or sports centre is owned by Glasgow City Council. The charity iscontracted to deliver services on behalf of the Council, with detailedcriteria and targets which must be achieved.The key phrase here is: “more than the sum of its parts”. The authoris arguing that the public interest is clouded and gives enoughevidence for the article to be publishable. It is interesting to notethat nowhere do you refute the individual business interests of theDirectors of CSG or the general direction being advocated by its Board.20. The images you chose to illustrate the piece are in no wayrepresentative of Culture and Sport Glasgow and the work that it does.They would appear to have been chosen to illustrate the city of Glasgow in a negative way and thus associate Culture and Sport Glasgow withnegative imagery.The particular choice of images to be used to accompany an article, ina magazine of arts, culture and cultural policy, is not a matter overwhich we will be asked to justify ourselves (subject to our operatingin accordance with laws governing such things as obscenity andcopyright). We uphold our right of freedom of expression as editorsand publishers of the magazine. However, we offer the followingobservations:This comment points to the perspective and understanding of ‘culture’which the article aims to critique. Variant on its part has a recordof criticising the politics of cultural regeneration as superficialand propagandistic in so far as it is part of a process of unevendevelopment which actually exacerbates a range of inequalities.Your critique represents a highly partial position, the logic of whichis that CSG should not be associated with negative aspects of Glasgowand negative aspects of Glasgow should not be associated with CSG. Bythis rationale, CSG is not responsible for the conditions of the cityit supposedly represents – making point 19 and point 20 seeminconsistent.Again, no evidence of inaccuracy or defamation here.Your article also associates Mrs McConnell and her family with a MrRobert McLuckie. Mr McLuckie has absolutely no connection with CSG orits work and the association is designed to impugn the integrity ofMrs McConnell and damage the reputation of CSG. May I remind you thatthe Press Complaints Commission's Code of Practice is explicit inreference to the reporting of crime and the association of familymembers. The Code states:"9. *Reporting of Crime(i) Relatives or friends of persons convicted or accused of crimeshould not generally be identified without their consent, unless theyare genuinely relevant to the story."It also states:"It is the responsibility of editors and publishers to apply the Codeto editorial material in both printed and online versions ofpublications. They should take care to ensure it is observed rigorously by all editorial staff and external contributors, includingnon-journalists, in printed and online versions of publications."Our legal opinion suggests that there is no basis on which it could besaid the public interest required any member of the McConnell familybe referred to in association with Mr McLuckie.There was no intention to suggest that the relationship between MrsMcConnell and her brother was used for corrupt purposes. Rather thearticle at this juncture attempted to critique the highly preferentialterms of Scottish Executive policy in relation to private capitalrather than public interest, and that decisions around planning havepolitical implications.Had the intention been to “impugn the integrity” of Bridget McConnell,this could have been done at the touch of a mouse. We list a smallselection of the articles that are easily available on the publicrecord: 1 Paul Gilbride, ‘McConnell’s relative faces probe into £2 propertydeal,’ The Express, 26 March 2007, p.15. 2 Mark Howarth, ‘Police probe into £2 land deal by McConnellin-law,’ Mail on Sunday, 25 March 2007, p.11. 3 Maggie Barry, ‘New Quiz over £1m Hospital Land Deal: MinisterUnder Fire After Holyrood Answer,’ The Mirror, 5 March 2007, p.14. 4 Mark Howarth, ‘Probe call over £1m land Jack’s brother-in-law wasgiven for £2: Demand for Auditor General to investigate sale toMcConnell’s millionaire relative,’ Mail on Sunday, 4 March 2007,p.21. 5 Mark Howarth, ‘Revealed, the cash handout to Jack’s millionairein-law: Property company was given £100,000,’ Mail on Sunday, 4 June2006, p.15. 6 ‘McConnell grilled after in-law buys £1m land for £2,’ TheExpress, 29 May 2006, p.6. 7 Tim Pauling, ‘Ladysbridge sale process gets all-clear,’ AberdeenPress and Journal, 13 June 2006, p.3. 8 Patricia Kane, ‘The First Minister’s brother-in-law, the infamousRed Rose dinner and the contracts worth £337,000 in McConnell's ownconstituency,’ Daily Mail, 22 November 2002, p.7.Given the sheer volume of material already in the public domain thatties these parties together, we were wondering whether any of themainstream newspapers were challenged in quite the same fashion asVariant when these allegations were published.Furthermore, there is no question that the article ‘identifies’ MrsMcConnell in the sense of a previously private individual not in thepublic eye. Mrs McConnell is already a widely known public figure andreports on her, her husband and McLuckie are widely available in printand on the internet.We contest that there is a strong public interest in general inreporting and discussing the intricate links between individual suchas McLuckie, the Labour Party, the McConnells and decision making inthe Scottish Executive.Lastly, since you raise the issue of codes of conduct, we wondered ifwe might remind you of the code of conduct of the National Union ofJournalists. Given that you are the current president of the NUJ youare no doubt aware that this includes the following provisions:A journalist shall at all times defend the principle of the freedom ofthe Press and other media in relation to the collection of informationand the expression of comment and criticism. He/she shall strive toeliminate distortion, news suppression and censorship.A journalist shall strive to ensure that the information he/shedisseminates is fair and accurate, avoid the expression of comment andconjecture as established fact and falsification by distortion,selection or misrepresentation.A journalist shall not lend himself/herself to the distortion orsuppression of the truth because of advertising or otherconsiderations.It seems to us that your actions in this case, • in being party to the removal of Variant from all CSG premises, • in the intimidatory threats of legal action and • in the inaccuracy and misrepresentation in your letter,have potentially breached all three of these articles in the code.The Editors,Variant-------------------------------------------Variant...in-depth coverage in the context ofbroader social, political & cultural issues.1/2 189b Maryhill RoadGlasgow G20 7XJ t. +44 (0)141 333 9522 e. variantmag@btinternet.com http://www.variant.org.ukreceive events info & online Variant:variantforum-subscribe@topica.com------------------------------------------- 2 July 2008articles
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