Dawe accused of sportscotland U-turn

Published on Saturday 9 February 2008 10:06

LABOUR councillors today accused city leader Jenny Dawe of performing a U-turn over the controversial decision to relocate sportscotland's headquarters from Edinburgh to Glasgow.

The government agency, which currently employs around 145 staff at the Gyle, is to be restructured into four "sports hubs", one to be based in Edinburgh.

Earlier this month, Cllr Dawe blasted the move, and warned it did not represent "best value for taxpayers' money".

But at a full council meeting this week, the Lib Dem/SNP administration said it "welcomed the Scottish Government's decision to retain the sportscotland name for its streamlined national sports organisation, and that the previous Scottish Executive's decision to move sportscotland in its entirety to Glasgow has been reversed."

Labour group leader Ewan Aitken said: "The sportscotland decision took two U-turns from the SNP to which Jenny Dawe has added a third U-turn by agreeing to the SNP view after criticising it publicly, along with Lib Dem MSPs. Has she sold out her parliamentary colleagues for peace back at the City Chambers?"

But Cllr Dawe today hit back. She said:

"It's rich to be accused of a U-turn from the master of opportunistic U-turns – Cllr Aitken."