Glasgow City Council given 'secret' £1m donation by McVitie's owner after Tollcross factory closure

Victoria Biscuit Works
-Credit:Garry F McHarg FOCAL Scotland


Glasgow City Council was given a "secret" £1m donation by the owners of the McVitie's biscuit empire after closing down the historic Tollcross factory.

The decision to close the historic factory cost hundreds of Glaswegian jobs. The century-old plant was closed in 2022 by Turkish-owned confectionary conglomerate Plaids, despite public outcry.

Local politicians opposed the closure and a Scottish Government taskforce attempted in vain to save more than 400 jobs. The factory produced some of the UK's most popular biscuits, including Digestives and Hobnobs.

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The Daily Record reports, Plaids has handed Glasgow City Council a £1m donation on the condition the company was not identified as the source. Councillors were informed of the donation at a meeting closed to the public last week, with members of the press asked to leave before the issue was discussed.

John Grady, the Scottish Labour MP for Glasgow East, has now called on the council's SNP administration to be fully transparent on how the donation will be spent. He last week wrote to Glasgow City Council - before the identity of Pladis was made public - asking whether it was appropriate for such a donation to remain secret.

Mr Grady warned anonymity “gives him cause for serious concern”. In a letter to Susan Aitken, the council leader, he said: "Accepting the donation on condition that the identity of the donor and related key details are not disclosed would make it difficult, if not impossible, for my constituents and other interested third parties to assess whether the donation created any conflict of interest."

Speaking today, Mr Grady said: "This donation is a lot of money and the council needs to now confirm as much as it can, so the public can have confidence that this donation is entirely above board.

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"I set out in my letter exactly the sort of questions that need answered. The public needs confidence the council is being operated properly.

"Of course, I am in favour of people donating money to the council. But I'm also in favour in transparency."

Mr Grady added: "There needs to be very clear governance on how the donation is spent. The closure of the McVitie's factory had a big impact on the local economy in Tollcross. So I would hope that money is invested in the east end."

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