Minister opens up on son’s tragic death

Confusion as McDonald’s ‘takes over’ shut bus stop

A HEARTBROKEN Rutherglen mum who is Scotland’s health minister has told of her pain over the death of her child.

Claire Haughey has opened up on losing her son Charlie almost one year on since he passed away..

Charlie was just days away from his 21st birthday and on holiday in Amsterdam when he was found dead in his bed after a cardiac arrest.

Ms Haughey told Holyrood Magazine: “You take your comforts in small things; I know what happened, I know it wasn’t a deliberate act, I got to see him, to bring him home.”

I got

OUTRAGE has erupted over the apparent takeover of a bus stop by a McDonald’s drive-thru.

Works by SGN on Maryhill Road have closed the bus stop next to the McDonald’s but locals on social media took aim at the council, with one lane being assigned to cars queueing for the drive-thru.

The council initially responded that the lane was “temporary traffic management to help with road safety in the area while there is a high demand for drive-thru services”.

A council spokesman later confirmed to the Glasgow Times that the council was not involved with the works and that it was SGN who had incorporated a queuing system for the restaurant while works were carried out.

In a subsequent reply to the Twitter user who had raised concerns that the bus stop – which connects Maryhill to the city centre and the West End – had been closed, the council wrote: “These works belong to SGN and they have incorporated a queuing system for McDonald’s to assist in road safety”.

One user wrote: “It’s embarrassing that this was ever allowed by the council. What is this private company contributing except for heart attacks? How about promoting health instead by converting it into a bike lane.”

The council told complainants on Twitter to engage with the council’s Spaces for People project map, which allows users to highlight areas of need in their communities.

Bradley Barlow, a spokesman for SGN, said: “We’re continuing to carry out emergency repairs on our gas network in the A81 Maryhill Road in Glasgow at its junction with Shakespeare Street.

“To ensure everyone’s safety around our work area, we’ve introduced temporary lanes to keep the traffic flowing. It’s too early to say how long our repair will take, but we’ll keep you updated on our progress here.”