After shutting down a historic factory, McVitie’s owners secretly donated £1m to Glasgow City Council, raising questions about transparency and use of funds.
Glasgow: So, here’s the scoop. The folks behind McVitie’s just dropped a cool £1 million on Glasgow City Council. But there’s a catch—they want to stay anonymous.
This donation comes after they closed their factory in Tollcross, which was a big deal. Hundreds of jobs were lost, and people were not happy about it. The factory had been around for over a century, making beloved biscuits like Digestives and Hobnobs.
Local politicians were really upset about the closure. They even tried to save those jobs, but it didn’t work out. Now, the council got this secret donation, and it’s raised a few eyebrows.
Last week, council members were told about the donation in a private meeting. Reporters were asked to leave before they discussed it. That’s got some people wondering what’s really going on.
John Grady, a local MP, is calling for transparency. He wants to know how the council plans to use this money. He’s worried that keeping the donor’s identity a secret could lead to conflicts of interest.
Grady said, “This donation is a lot of money, and the public deserves to know it’s all above board.” He’s all for donations but believes they should be open and clear.
Louise Gilmour from GMB Scotland also chimed in. She thinks it’s strange for the council to accept anonymous donations, especially from a company that just laid off so many workers.
She asked, “Are we just supposed to trust that there’s no catch?” The workers who lost their jobs deserve answers, too. They want to know why this money wasn’t used to save their jobs instead.
A spokesperson for the council didn’t comment on who the donor was but confirmed they accepted the money. They promised more details would come later.
