Steven Purcell forced to quit politics

• Steven Purcell announced yesterday that he was standing down as a councillor.

The news came as it emerged the former leader of Glasgow City Council had a "private meeting" with officers from Scotland's elite drug squad.

Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency officers spoke with Mr Purcell in his office in Glasgow City Chambers on 12 May last year. Mr Purcell was not cautioned or formally interviewed.

However, the fact the meeting took place will inevitably fuel speculation about his lifestyle and his "chemical dependency".

The Scotsman learned of the meeting last night after Mr Purcell announced he was standing down as a councillor in an attempt to close down the controversy that has engulfed him.

He quit as council leader earlier this week, after being admitted to a clinic specialising in drink and drug addiction.

The announcement that he is to end his 15-year political career by leaving his post as a councillor in Glasgow's Blairdardie ward was made through Media House, the high-profile public relations company that he brought in to deal with his difficulties earlier this week.

The Media House statement said Mr Purcell, once regarded as one of Scottish Labour's brightest stars, planned to take a "period of rest and recuperation".

His lawyer, solicitor-advocate Peter Watson, of Levy McRae, said: "Steven Purcell tendered his resignation today. He did so with much sadness, but with great support from friends, family and many wellwishers from every part of the city. Steven has accepted advice that he must concentrate on his health and wellbeing. As he steps out of public life, he now wishes to be left in peace and quiet. There will be no further comment."

The development came at the end of an extraordinary week that saw him quit on Tuesday as the leader of the Labour-run council.

The Scotsman revealed on Thursday that his advisers suggested declaring he was suffering from a "chemical dependency" when he left. But that advice was ignored and an alternative statement, saying that Mr Purcell was suffering from "stress and exhaustion", was issued by Media House.

The strain of running Scotland's biggest local authority, the pressures of planning for the 2014 Commonwealth Games and the expenses controversy involving Strathclyde Partnership for Transport were also blamed.

Media House confirmed he had been admitted to the Castle Craig clinic in the Borders, which looks after people with addictions.

In a letter written at the request of Mr Watson, consultant psychiatrist Dr Florian Kaplick confirmed Mr Purcell had been a patient for three days. The letter added: "It needs to be noted that he was not treated for a drug problem."

Labour colleagues last night applauded Mr Purcell's decision to leave public life, arguing that, had he remained, he would have been subjected to intense press scrutiny.

"Steven Purcell has made the right decision," said Michael Kelly, a former Glasgow lord provost. "He is genuinely ill and recovery must be his sole concern. Now he is no longer a public figure, he is entitled to the privacy necessary for him to undergo treatment and make himself well."

Mr Purcell's decision would appear to rule out any sort of political comeback for a long time, and it may mark the highly unexpected end to a career that had seen him marked out as a future challenger for the Scottish Labour leadership. One council source said: "It just looks like Steven's disappearing. If he is disappearing, does that mean there is more to come out? It is just crazy in Glasgow at the moment."

The source claimed the vacuum left by Mr Purcell's departure was creating problems within the Labour group that runs Glasgow. It is currently being led by Jim Coleman on a temporary basis.

"Labour doesn't know where they are going," the source said. "There are factions developing – councillors in Steven's inner circle and the old guard who were never really that close to him. There is no obvious successor.

"Steven relied a lot on his inner circle, and he led by his personality and his high national profile."

Senior Labour figures appealed for calm, saying the last thing the party needed in the run-up to a general election was a crisis in Glasgow. MSP Michael McMahon, Labour's local government spokesman, said: "We have to see the political situation in Glasgow stabilised as quickly as possible.

"We are coming up to a general election and we don't need the most powerful local authority in Scotland destabilised, and Jim Coleman needs the support of his colleagues to ensure the council focuses on delivering public services. The main priority is to keep the show on the road."

A Labour spokesman said: "Steven Purcell was a respected leader of Glasgow City Council and represented his ward with great commitment, as well as leading Glasgow's bid for the Commonwealth Games. It is clear he is ill, and so everyone in Glasgow will no doubt wish him a full recovery."

A council spokesman said: "He (Purcell] had a private meeting with police officers on 12 May last year in his office in the City Chambers."

Media House last night refused to comment on Mr Purcell's meeting with the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency.

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